Time Warner Rejects $80bn Takeover Bid by Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox

Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox revealed it had made an unsuccessful bid to take over rival entertainment giant Time Warner.

The bid was thought to have been worth $80bn (£46.6bn, €59bn) – or $85 a share – in cash and shares plus the absorption of $12bn debt by media behemoth Fox.

"21st Century Fox can confirm that we made a formal proposal to Time Warner last month to combine the two companies," said the firm.

"The Time Warner Board of Directors declined to pursue our proposal. We are not currently in any discussions with Time Warner."

Time Warner's share price leapt by over 17% after the news of the rejected takeover bid. Fox shares had dipped by around 2%.

A combined firm would have had around $65bn of annual revenues, going by recent financial reports.

It would have also brought together under one parent company Fox-owned cable television networks, satellite TV services like Sky, film production companies and Time Warner-owned brands such as Warner Brothers, CNN and HBO.

"The Time Warner Board, after consultation with its financial and legal advisors, determined that it was not in the best interests of Time Warner or its stockholders to accept the proposal or to pursue any discussions with 21st Century Fox," said Time Warner.

"The board is confident that continuing to execute its strategic plan will create significantly more value for the company and its stockholders and is superior to any proposal that 21st Century Fox is in a position to offer."

In 2013, octogenarian Murdoch split his firm into two separate entities, with 21st Century Fox handling the entertainment side of the and News Corp controlling the publishing, such as his UK newspapers including The Times and The Sun and book publisher HaperCollins.

This was to prevent his entertainment businesses from being caught up in the phone hacking scandal that entangled his UK tabloids and led to the closure of one, the News of the World.

At the time of the split, Murdoch said it would create greater value for shareholders.