News Corp bound for the U.S.

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News Corp bound for the U.S.
《CNN财富连线》:澳新闻集团将迁至美国



(中文大意)

　　澳大利亚政府并不反对本国媒体巨头转移至美国注册和上市。

　　澳大利亚财政部长Peter Costello周二称，澳政府不反对本国媒体巨头新闻集团(News Corp Ltd)在美国登记注册的建议。他在声明中称，根据1975年外国并购法(Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975)，本人依据政府的外国投资政策将不对此建议提出反对意见。该建议将面临着新闻集团股东大会的批准，预计将在今年10月的股东大会上正式考虑。

　　澳政府的外国投资审核委员会介入此事，因该建议中的在美登记注册意味着，在美新成立的公司将收购在澳的新闻集团的资产。

The Australian government will raise no objections to News Corp Ltd's proposal to relocate its place of incorporation to the United States, Treasurer Peter Costello said Tuesday.

\"Under the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975, I have decided to raise no objections under the government's foreign investment policy,\" Costello said in a statement.

The proposal is subject to approval by the company's shareholders and is expected to be formally considered at a meeting in October.

The government's Foreign Investment Review Board became involved because the proposed relocation means the new U.S.-based company is buying the assets of Australia-based News Corp.

The deal would also involve the controlling interest in Queensland Press, moving from one foreign owner to another. In this case, from U.S. citizen Rupert Murdoch to the U.S.-based News Corporation.

Under Australia's foreign investment laws, all offshore investment in Australian media companies requires government approval.

Analysts, however, had not expected any hurdles under government rules because News Corp is already treated as a foreign company.

In April, News Corp unveiled a proposal to shift its home base to the United States but keep its listing on the Australian Stock Exchange, where the company and its preferred stock account for about 7.5 percent of the S&/ASX 200 index.

The proposed move of its primary listing to the U.S.-based S& 500 was designed to attract new shareholders and gain better access to international capital markets.

But last week, rating agency Standard & Poor's said News Corp could not be counted in both the main U.S. and Australian indices, dashing Australian Stock Exchange hopes it could keep News Corp -- the highest weighted company in the benchmark S&/ASX 200 index -- from moving to the United States.

News Corp was built by Rupert Murdoch from a newspaper in Adelaide in South Australia and is now one of the world's top four media empires, with about 75 percent of its revenue derived from the United States.