Time Warner reported an increase in second-quarter revenue and profit on higher revenue from HBO and Turner, results from the media company that come a day after a pulled takeover bid by Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox.
The media company with businesses in TV and film, which recently spun off its magazine publishing arm Time Inc. (TIME), quickly found itself a takeover target when 21st Century Fox–the media empire steered by Rupert Murdoch–made a $80 billion bid to acquire the CNN and HBO parent. But Time Warner (TWX) rejected that bid, saying there was “significant risk and uncertainty” to 21st Century Fox’s ability to govern and manage the combined company.
On Tuesday, however, 21st Century Fox (FOXA) appeared to throw in the towel–at least for now–with Murdoch saying Time Warner management “refused to engage with us to explore an offer which was highly compelling.”
21st Century Fox is due to report its quarterly results later on Wednesday.
Overall, Time Warner reported second-quarter net income of $850 million, or 95 cents a share, up from $771 million, or 81 cents a share, a year ago. Adjusted profit for the latest period totaled 98 cents, while overall revenue grew 3% to $6.8 billion.
Among the company’s three major businesses, revenue climbed 5% and 17%, respectively, at Turner and HBO. Warner Bros. posted a 2% drop in revenue, as last year’s results had a stronger movie slate with titles like “Man of Steel” and “The Great Gatsby.”
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly attributed Time Warner’s stock decline to the company’s earnings report. The stock movement was due to the nixed 21st Century Fox bid on Tuesday.
