India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

News International's embattled UK arms, The Sun, Times and Sunday Times, are likely to be spun off into a trust as part of plans being worked on by senior News Corp executives. News Corp chief operating officer Chase Carey is believed to have instructed executives to look at a number of options to hive off Rupert Murdoch's News International titles. According to The Telegraph, the move, prompted by the phone hacking scandal at the now defunct British tabloid News of the World, would allow Murdoch's media empire to restart its bid to take over broadcaster BSkyB. Proposals under consideration include creating a trust to manage the UK newspaper assets, going into a joint venture with a media partner or a direct sale to private equity, the report said. Carey has already acknowledged the company would be worth more if it did not own News International. Speaking to investors in February, he said the company had already considered its options regarding the papers. But the news that three options are now being worked on by senior News Corp executives is the most significant step to a possible disposal of News International, the paper said. The trust would work along the lines of a proposal put forward last year for Sky News if BSkyB had been taken over by News Corp. A separate board would manage the business at arms' length from News Corp, effectively creating a firewall between the two. It is understood News Corp would consider providing backing for up to ten years to fund the newspaper trust.

Murdoch's troubled British newspapers could be spun off into trust: Report