John Corn
02-26-03, 05:02 AM
SYDNEY, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch's News Corp Ltd and Liberty Media have scrapped a planned joint bid for Hughes Electronics Corp and DirecTV, with News Corp now pushing ahead with an independent offer, the Wall Street Journal said on Wednesday.
Cable king John Malone's Liberty (nyse: L - news - people) was also considering launching its own bid for control for Hughes (nyse: L - news - people) and its satellite broadcaster DirecTV and had sent in a team to start due diligence on the takeover target's books, the newspaper reported.
"Liberty has made it clear it's considering proceeding, on its own, and definitely isn't working with News Corp," the WSJ quoted a person familiar with the issue as saying.
Rest of the Story (http://www.forbes.com/newswire/2003/02/26/rtr890495.html)
Cable king John Malone's Liberty (nyse: L - news - people) was also considering launching its own bid for control for Hughes (nyse: L - news - people) and its satellite broadcaster DirecTV and had sent in a team to start due diligence on the takeover target's books, the newspaper reported.
"Liberty has made it clear it's considering proceeding, on its own, and definitely isn't working with News Corp," the WSJ quoted a person familiar with the issue as saying.
Rest of the Story (http://www.forbes.com/newswire/2003/02/26/rtr890495.html)