Fox Drops Bid to Grab Time Warner

A deal that would have combined two of the world's biggest media companies is no more—21st Century Fox is abandoning its attempt to take over Time Warner. The about-face announced today comes three weeks after Time Warner revealed that it had rejected 21st Century Fox's unsolicited $76 billion buyout offer. Besides that rebuff, 21st Century Fox CEO Rupert Murdoch cited a decline in his New York company's stock price as one of the reasons for ending the pursuit of Time Warner.

"The reaction in our share price since our proposal was made undervalues our stock and makes the transaction unattractive to Fox shareholders," said Murdoch in a statement picked up by the Wall Street Journal. Instead, 21st Century Fox's board approved a plan to spend $6 billion buying back the company's stock during the next year. After the news, Fox shares rose 8% and Time Warner's fell 11%, reports MarketWatch. (More Time Warner stories.)