Skip to main content
CNN.com International
The Web    CNN.com      Powered by
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ON TV
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Business

News down on share index worry


vstory.murdochoct2003ap.jpg
Murdoch has said he will not vote on the issue of moving News Corp. to the U.S.
YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS
News Corporation Limited
Rupert Murdoch
United States
Australia

SYDNEY, Australia (CNN) -- Shares in media giant News Corp. are down sharply in Thursday trade after Standard & Poor's said the company could not simultaneously appear in both the main U.S. and Australian stock indices.

News, controlled by Rupert Murdoch, plans to move its primary listing to the United States to improve its access to capital markets and to win new shareholders.

The move will be put to a vote later this year and requires approval from 75 percent of shareholders. Murdoch, whose family has about 30 percent of the voting stock, has already said he will not vote on the issue.

The Australian Stock Exchange had hoped to retain News, which is the single largest component of the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index.

Standard & Poor's said Wednesday a company could not simultaneously be a member of the S&P500 in the United States and the S&P/ASX50 (a subset of the S&P/ASX200) in Australia.

It said it was making the announcement ahead of any vote to "bring clarity to the marketplace".

If News moves from Australia, domestic fund managers will likely shift money out of the stock, and trading volumes on the ASX will fall.

News shares are down 2.3 percent to A$12.86 in Thursday trade.

"News Corporation believes that a large majority of shareholders recognize the clear and compelling benefits of the plan to reincorporate to the United States and will support the proposal when a vote is taken later this year," News said in a statement late Wednesday.


Story Tools
Click Here to try 4 Free Trial Issues of Time! cover
Top Stories
CNN/Money: Convictions in Tyco case
Top Stories
EU 'crisis' after summit failure

CNN US
On CNN TV E-mail Services CNN Mobile CNN AvantGo CNNtext Ad info Preferences
SEARCH
   The Web    CNN.com     
Powered by
© 2005 Cable News Network LP, LLLP.
A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved.
Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines. Contact us.
external link
All external sites will open in a new browser.
CNN.com does not endorse external sites.
 Premium content icon Denotes premium content.