News Corp mulls Arab acquisition

News Corp is in talks to acquire a 20% stake in Arab media giant Rotana, owned by Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal.

A formal bid valuing the stake is expected this month, although it is not clear whether the deal will be for existing stock or new shares, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Rotana hosts Fox channels in Saudi Arabia via its TV network (Rotana TV) and owns rights to more than 2,000 Arabic movies. It also owns a film production company, a magazine (Rotana Magazine), a record label (Rotana Records). It also has a fledgling digital music and video business.

Bin Talal’s holding company Kingdom Holding, which owns Rotana, has a 5.7% stake in News Corp and the prince has long standing ties with Rupert Murdoch.

The deal points to the growing number of Western media companies looking to expand to the Middle East, such as Yahoo, which recently bought Arab portal Maktoob.