Fox News parent increases partnership with Saudi sheik

• "Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. said Tuesday it will spend $70 million for a slice of Arabic

media giant Rotana Group, pushing deeper into the growing Middle East market while

• strengthening ties to a key Saudi shareholder.

News Corp., the parent of Fox News Channel and distributor of "Avatar," said it will acquire a 9.1 percent stake by buying newly issued shares in Rotana, which is headed by

• Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal. The New York-based media company said it has an option to boost its Rotana holding to 18.2 percent within 18 months....

The deal will also give News Corp. two seats on the Mideast company's board, spokeswoman Alice Macandrew said....

• Alwaleed, who also heads Saudi investment firm Kingdom Holding Co., is a longtime investor in News Corp., with a stake of about 7 percent of the company, according to a recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
  
• That makes him News Corp.'s biggest shareholder after members of the Murdoch family.

Rotana already distributes Fox films in the Middle East through an earlier deal with News Corp"...