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News Corp. set for second grab at DirecTV: report
LOS ANGELES (AFP) Dec 19, 2002
Media magnate Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. will try again to take over the Hughes Electronics' satellite television business DirecTV, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.

DirecTV is up for grabs after US competition regulators last week forced Hughes to abandon plans for an 18-billion-dollar merger with EchoStar, which runs the DISH satellite television network.

General Motors, which owns Hughes, signalled it was still looking for a buyer, opening the way for Australian-born Murdoch to renew his thwarted takeover bid.

Murdoch failed to take control of Hughes late last year when his offer was trumped by a last-minute bid from EchoStar.

This time, Murdoch would join forces in an equal partnership with John Malone's Liberty Media Corp., which had provided financial backing in the first effort, the Los Angeles Times said.

News Corp., which last month was amassing a warchest through a 1.2-billion-dollar share offer, was still keen on taking over DirecTV, the paper said, quoting sources.

Top executives of News Corp. had been scheduled to discuss a new deal in New York Wednesday with representatives of General Motors, the Los Angeles Times said.

It quoted sources close to the companies as saying the meeting was preliminary and might not cover such details as price and structure of any deal.

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