Prince al-Waleed bin Talal, the billionaire Saudi investor, has vowed to block any hostile takeover bid for News Corp, throwing his support behind Rupert Murdoch, chairman of the US media group.
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Prince al-Waleed told the FT: “The idea is that if the need arises, we will act to keep News Corp independent under the leadership of Mr Murdoch and convert our stock to a voting stake and take whatever additional stake is needed.” He also supported Mr Murdoch's sons, Lachlan and James, who are deputy chief operating officer and chief executive of BSkyB respectively. “I want to be sure Mr Murdoch and his family and the directors understand I'm ready to assist.”