News Corp. to Purchase IGN Entertainment for $650 Mln (Update1)
Sept. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. agreed to buy IGN Entertainment Inc., which runs video-game related Web sites, for $650 million as part of a plan to expand the media company's Internet business.
IGN's sites include GameSpy.com and IGN.com as well as Rottentomatoes.com, a movie-fan site. The cash purchase makes Brisbane, California-based IGN part of the Fox Interactive Media unit, News Corp. said in an e-mailed statement today.
The purchase will give News Corp. 28 million new Web users and together with two other Internet acquisitions Murdoch has announced since July, will bring the New York-based company's total U.S. Web traffic to almost 70 million unique monthly users.
``We have gone a long way toward achieving two of our key strategic objectives in our efforts to become a leading and profitable Internet presence,'' Murdoch said in the statement.
IGN filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in July to sell as much as $200 million of stock in an initial public offering.
Shares of News Corp. rose 11 cents to $17.32 yesterday in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. They have dropped 9.8 percent this year.
News Corp. in July agreed to buy Intermix Media Inc. for $580 million, adding more than 30 marketing and entertainment Web sites. The company is also buying closely held Scout Media Inc., a Seattle-based owner of 200 sports sites and 47 magazines, for about $60 million.
The IGN deal probably will close in the fourth quarter, the company said in the statement.
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