News Corporation announces that it “signed a definitive agreement” to purchase IGN Entertainment Inc. for approximately $650 million in cash.


Game Daily Biz, the source for game industry professionals, reports that by the end of this year, IGN Entertainment will officially be a part of News Corp.’s newly minted Fox Interactive Media unit.

Rupert Murdoch, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of News Corporation has become part of the video game industry. News Corp has a new Fox Interactive Media Unit which has acquired IGN Entertainment Inc. for approximately $650 million in cash.

IGN has a network of sites, which includes TeamXbox, GameSpy, Rotten Tomatoes, AskMen.com, sites within the Vault and Planet networks and more. These sites will now become part of News Corporation’s Fox Interactive Media unit.

Mark Jung, IGN’s chief executive officer, will report to Ross Levinsohn, President of Fox Interactive Media, once the deal is completed. The transaction is expected to close during the 4th quarter of this calendar year.

This is actually News Corp.’s third Internet acquisition this year, following the purchases of Scout Media, a sports web publisher, and Intermix, which operates the popular social networking website MySpace.com.

Sharing is caring