Irenic, an activist, supports Starboard's campaign to eliminate News Corp's dual-class structure.

• Irenic, an activist investor, stated that it would support Starboard Value's effort to eliminate News Corp's dual-class share structure.
• Previously, Irenic had advocated for blocking the merger between Rupert Murdoch's companies, Fox and News Corp.
• Despite recommendations from ISS and Glass Lewis for shareholders to vote to abolish the dual-class structure at the November annual meeting, the effort will face opposition due to Murdoch's 40% voting share.

Irenic Capital Management, an activist, announced on Tuesday that it would support Starboard Value's proposal to eliminate the dual-class structure at News Corp, owned by Rupert Murdoch, prior to a crucial shareholder meeting.

For the past two years, Jeff Smith's Starboard has been advocating for the abolition of the dual-class structure at the media conglomerate and the separation of its highly-valuable online real estate business.

Irenic, a company owned by Adam Katz, has been advocating for changes at the Wall Street Journal parent for the same amount of time. In a letter to News Corp's board on Tuesday, Irenic expressed its opposition to the dual-class structure but remained supportive of management's efforts to "immediately unlock value."

Irenic believes that the Murdoch family and other super-voting shareholders should receive a premium if a conversion to a single-share structure occurs.

The proxy advisory firms ISS and Glass Lewis are supporting Starboard's efforts to dissolve the dual-class structure at News Corp. Despite receiving 90% support from non-Murdoch shareholders, a vote to dissolve the structure a decade ago failed.

The Murdoch family holds a significant amount of voting power through a family trust and supervoting Class B shares, making it difficult to make governance changes.