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Fox withdrew its $80 billion bid to buy Time
Warner Inc TWX.N last week after being rebuffed by the owner of
CNN, HBO and Warner Bros studios. Murdoch said he has no plans
to pursue another company as an alternative.
"We support (Fox's) stand-alone plan and (believe) that it would
drive the stock higher," ValueAct Chief Executive Jeffrey Ubben
said in an interview on Monday, adding that he sees Fox as a $50
stock in three years.
Fox shares closed up more than 1 percent at $34.77 on Monday.
The new stake will be ValueAct's fifth largest holding, Ubben
said.
ValueAct, a hedge fund known for taking stakes in companies and
quietly affecting change over the long term, does see a possible
Time Warner tie-up down the road, Ubben said.
"It is important to the ecosystem," he said, adding Fox should
"retain the opportunity later to revisit the deal."
In addition, the ValueAct executive said he supported Fox's $6
billion share repurchase plan, which it also announced last
week.
"We thought it was something they should do if they were to walk
away, to remind people of their cash flow."
A Fox spokesman declined to comment.
CNBC reported ValueAct's stake earlier on Monday.
(Additional reporting by Soham Chatterjee and Liana Baker;
Editing by Ted Kerr, Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Richard Chang)
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