News Corp. Board approved company's split into two public traded entities

News Corporation Board has approved the split of its company into two publicly traded entities putting a step forward in separating its entertainment businesses from the publishing division.

The board announced the terms of share distribution, named the board of directors for both the firms, and a 500 million dollars stock-buypack program for the new corporation.

In a report by Fox News, the company said it would take an impairment charge between $1.2 billion and $1.4 billion, pretax, in the June quarter to write down assets related to its publishing segment.

News Corp. had decided in the last year to split itself after years of pressure from the shareholders to spin off the lower-growth publishing side of the business.

The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones Newswires, book publisher HarperCollins and several Australian and British publications, among other divisions will be placed into a company, which will retain the News Corp. name.

The Fox broadcast and cable channels, 20th Century Fox movie studio and other entertainment properties will be part of newly titled 21st Century Fox.

Rupert Murdoch, who will serve as chairman and chief executive of 21st Century Fox and executive chairman of the new News Corp. said that the announcement about separating News Corp. is a significant step towards creating two independent companies with the world's leading portfolios of publishing and entertainment assets.

The report added that the shareholders in 21st Century Fox and the new News Corp. will be given the right to acquire more stock if any individual investor acquires more than a 15 percent stake.