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Murdoch files for divorce

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News Corp. Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch has filed for divorce from his wife Wendi Deng, the company confirmed on Thursday.

Rupert Murdoch, chairman and CEO of News Corporation, arrives with his wife Wendi Deng at the 85th Academy Awards in Hollywood, California in this February 24, 2013 file photo. [Agencies via China Daily]

Murdoch's spokesman Steven Rubenstein said the marriage had been irretrievably broken for more than six months.

"I can confirm for the record that Rupert filed in New York State Supreme Court this morning for divorce," the spokesman told AFP news agency on Thursday.

Mr Murdoch, 82, met Wendi in 1997 at a cocktail party in Hong Kong and married her in 1999 aboard a private yacht in New, weeks after his second divorce. They now have two young daughters together.

Murdoch has four grown children, Prudence from his first marriage and Lachlan, James and Elisabeth from his second.

A person familiar with the situation said Murdoch and Deng had a prenuptial agreement, though it was not clear which one would move out of the couple's Upper East Side apartment in New York City.

A few years ago, it was reported that Deng had fought to secure a voting position for her children in the family trust, which holds the Murdoch stake in News Corp., worth billions of dollars.

The two youngest girls do not have voting rights in the trust, though they do have an ownership stake.

According to the Forbes, Murdoch is worth $9.4 billion. His second wife got $1.7 billion for their divorce. So it is estimated that Deng will get over $1 billion for their separation.

The filing comes just days before the split of News Corp. into two companies, one for its entertainment assets and the other for its publishing business.

Analysts believed the end of the marriage was unlikely to have an effect on the corporate split.

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