Murdoch leaves newspaper boards ahead of News Corp split

News Corp’s Rupert Murdoch has stepped down from a string of boards overseeing The Sun, The Times, and Sunday Times newspapers in Britain, the company said in an internal memo on Saturday.

The company described the news as a “corporate housecleaning exercise” linked to a June announcement that News Corp would split into two separate firms: A smaller publishing division and a much larger entertainment and television group.

But the news is likely to reignite speculation that News Corp could be preparing to sell the titles, following a phone hacking scandal at the now defunct News of the World that has damaged Mr Murdoch’s reputation in Britain.