Murdoch Poised For DirecTV Buy

[Gregg Lengling]

The colossus of Sydney... News Corp. (nyse: NWS - news - people ) Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch is poised hard by the triumph of his career. Rival bidders for Hughes Electronics' (nyse: GMH - news - people ) DirecTV unit have evaporated, leaving Murdoch the last major gun in the running for the U.S. satellite pay-TV network. The deal, which would give the media mogul the last jewel in his global satellite crown, could cost some $7 billion--less than a third what Murdoch was seen ready to pay two years ago. The CEO said the deal was now just "a question of price," but he said he was uncertain whether News Corp. was indeed the lone bidder: U.S. telecom SBC Communications (nyse: SBC - news - people ) broke off talks this week with Hughes, but some have murmured that Cablevision Systems (nyse: CVC - news - people ) may be interested. Shares in News Corp. climbed 3.3% on Thursday to A$11.3, and have gained 7.2% since Tuesday.