• September 7, 2005

Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, the fifth-richest person in the world and a renowned media industry investor, Tuesday took steps to influence the direction of two of the world's largest media companies, according to news reports. The Los Angeles Times reported that Bin Talal, a major Time Warner investor, is backing CEO Richard Parsons--who has been under pressure from another Time Warner investor, Carl Icahn, to restructure the company in an effort to boost its stock price. Icahn has been pushing for several changes, including the spinoff of Time Warner Cable and a $20 billion share repurchase plan. "We have full trust and confidence in Mr. Parsons," Bin Talal told the paper. Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reports that Bin Talal has raised his voting stake in News Corp. to 5.5 percent, as part of a plan to support News Corp. chairman-CEO Rupert Murdoch, whose control may be threatened by Liberty Media Corp.'s John Malone. Liberty has quietly acquired an 18 percent stake in News Corp. and may have bigger designs on the company, the paper implied.