Paul Ryan takes seat on Fox Corp board as it makes Nasdaq debut following $100bn Disney deal

Paul Ryan has taken a seat on the Fox Corp board as it debuted on the Nasdaq after closing a $100bn deal with Disney.

Cars enter and leave Fox Studios, Tuesday, March 19, 2019, in Los Angeles. Disney has closed its $71 acquisition of Fox’s entertainment business on Wednesday, March 20, in a move set to shake up the media landscape. The closure paves the way for Disney to launch its streaming service, Disney Plus, due out later this year. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Rupert Murdoch’s new-look Fox Corp has made its stock market debut in the US after offloading the bulk of 21st Century Fox’s entertainment assets to Walt Disney for $US71.3 billion ($100bn).

Fox — which now consists of television assets, including Fox Sports, Fox News, the Fox Broadcast Network and TV stations — also named four new board directors, including Paul Ryan, the former speaker of the US House of Representatives on its Nasdaq debut.

The company also appointed Anne Dias, Roland Hernandez and 21st Century Fox veteran Chase Carey to its board.

Its board already includes, Jacques Nasser, former chairman of mining giant BHP, Rupert Murdoch, the company’s co-chairman and Lachlan Murdoch, the company’s chairman and chief executive.

The assets that now make up Fox Corp generated $US10.2bn in revenue in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2018, up 2 per cent from the previous year, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing a securities filing by the company.

Net income for the Fox Corp business in fiscal 2018 was up 59 per cent to $US2.2bn, driven by a tax benefit. Without that gain, income slipped 3 per cent.

Disney is purchasing production businesses, including Twentieth Century Fox studio, US cable networksFX and National Geographic and international businesses including Star India. It also will acquire Fox’s stake in streaming-video service Hulu, with the closely-watched cash and stock deal slated to close Wednesday US time.

The deal was announced in late 2017, but a rival offer for the Fox assets from Comcast Corp. last year forced Disney to increase its initial $US52.4bn offer to $US71.3bn.

On US tech-index Nasdaq, Fox shares fell 3.26 per cent to $US40.34 overnight as investors sold shares. Disney slipped 2.76 per cent to $US110.00.

The sale proceeds will be split among Mr Murdoch’s six children, Prudence, Elizabeth, Lachlan, James, Grace and Chloe.

Mr Murdoch and his family are also major shareholders of News Corp, publisher of The Australian.