News Corp faces revolt over Murdoch re-election
AN influential shareholder advisory firm has urged investors to vote against the re-election of Rupert Murdoch’s sons onto the News Corp board.
Glass Lewis told investors they should “carefully consider the nature of the relationship” of board members to the Murdoch family to ensure they are fully independent.
James and Lachlan Murdoch will face a shareholder vote at the firm’s annual meeting later this month, with some investors threatening to rebel over the phone hacking scandal that rocked the firm and led to the closure of the News of the World.
Glass Lewis added that “applying rigorous oversight has not been a strength of the News Corp board,” saying it had “consistently failed to achieve standards of good governance due to the board’s historical deference.”
James Murdoch resisted calls for him to stand down as chairman of broadcaster BSkyB over the summer, as News Corp’s bid for the part of the firm it does not already own collapsed.
Murdoch said he would stay at News Corp to clean up the mess in the wake of the hacking scandal.