News Corp set to split businesses

Under pressure to limit contagion from the British phone hacking scandal, Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp said yesterday that it is considering splitting into two publicly traded companies.

The move comes as Britain’s communications regulator, Ofcom, enters the final stages of its review of whether satellite television firm BSkyB — of which News Corp holds a 39% stake — is “fit and proper” to hold a broadcast license.

The separation of News Corp’s tainted newspaper division from the lucrative television and film assets might appease regulators, analysts said.