• by Sara Guaglione , October 11, 2019

James Murdoch, son of News Corp. founder Rupert Murdoch, has acquired a minority investment in Vice Media Group through his new holding company Lupa Systems.

Though an exact figure is unknown, sources told Financial Times, which first reported the news, that it is a small investment. Murdoch has been on the board of Vice Media Group for several years now.

Lupa Systems was formed earlier this year, funded by the $2 billion Murdoch received after Disney acquired the Fox family business for $71.3 billion.

Murdoch is often seen as the more progressive one in the family. His donations to the Clinton Foundation set him apart from his father's conservative cable channel Fox News, which his older brother Lachlan now runs.

Last week, Vice Media acquired female millennial lifestyle media company Refinery29.

Vice was last valued at $5.7 billion in 2017. This May, Disney disclosed a $353 million write-down of its stake in Vice Media (following a $157 million write-down in September 2018), signaling the company does not expect to get a return on its investment in the company.

In other Murdoch news, James’ older sister Elisabeth Murdoch, as well as Stacey Snider and Jane Featherstone, recently launched a new entertainment production company called Sister. 

Elisabeth’s mobile-first digital studio Vertical Network was sold last week to Whistle, which produces sports and entertainment content for Snapchat.