Morgan Stanley Reiterates Equal-Weight Rating for News Corporation

In a report published earlier today, Morgan Stanley reiterated its Equal-Weight rating for News Corporation NWS, but did not name a price target. Morgan Stanley went on to say “We favorably view NWS' offer to purchase Consolidated Media Holdings Limited Holdings (‘CMH'), as the offer fits with the company's strategy to simplify its asset portfolio and capture greater value from its equity holdings. Should CMH accept the offer, we estimate the deal to be 3-5% accretive to EPS estimate, depending on the taxation of the incremental income. We note, however, using the ~$2.2bn (cash paid for shares + debt repayment) to fuel share repurchases may prove slightly more accretive.” News Corporation closed yesterday at $20.24.