In the company's annual report, released today, News Corp chairman and chief executive Murdoch said: "Both Hughes Electronics and Sky Italia, as distribution platforms, will enhance the long-term strategy of our company as a whole, providing us with a better balance of advertising-dependent and non ad-dependent revenues."
News Corp is planning to buy a 34% stake in Hughes Electronics for $6.6bn (£4.14bn) by the end of the year. The company owns the satellite giant DirecTV, and News Corp has been in a long-running battle to buy the company. The latest deal will see it taking a 19.8% stake from Hughes' parent General Motors and 14.2% from other shareholders.
Murdoch said of the deal: "For News Corp, completing this transaction would mark the culmination of our long-time pursuit of satellite TV distribution in the US -- and provide the missing link in an unprecedented global satellite television platform."
The annual report also says that the past financial year was the most successful in the company's history with record profit from US television, including Fox, and Australian newspapers. In the UK, Murdoch said that restoring the cover price of The Sun would help a return to steady profit growth.
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