Murdoch awards shares of News Corp. to children

Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch has awarded an estimated $600 million worth of News Corp. shares to his six children, according to regulatory filings.

Murdoch’s six children, including Lachlan Murdoch, the former chief operating officer of News Corp. who left the company last year, will each receive about $100 million of Class A nonvoting shares each, a company spokesman said.

News Corp. said the award was for financial planning purposes.