Saudi Prince Embraces Murdoch

News Corp.'s (NWS) Rupert Murdoch has a pal in Saudi Arabia.

Famed investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has raised his voting stake in the New York media giant to 5.46% and reaffirmed his support for Murdoch. The news comes as Murdoch is on less affectionate terms with another big shareholder, Liberty Media (L) Chairman John Malone.

News Corp. has had to contend with a tricky situation as Malone, a longtime shareholder in the owner of the Fox broadcast network and other media assets, last fall quietly doubled his voting stake to 18%. In return, News Corp. adopted a poison pill provision that the company extended last month, saying it will maintain the restrictions on big shareholdings until the Liberty standoff is resolved.

Alwaleed, one of the richest men in the world, has converted a 3% stake in News Corp. nonvoting class A shares to the 5.46% class B voting holding.

"Last November I said that I had the utmost confidence in Mr. Murdoch, his management team and his succession planning, and that if necessary, the Kingdom companies would replace their non-voting shares with voting shares," the prince said. "The Kingdom companies now own a significant interest in News Corporation voting shares and may purchase more if the situation warrants."

Alwaleed came to Wall Street's attention in the early 1990s with his prescient purchase of a big stake in Citigroup (C), when the stock was struggling in the low single digits. He later bought a big hunk of Apple (AAPL) and has invested in various other technology and media companies.

On Tuesday, News Corp. shares rose 27 cents to $17.10.

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