Tucker Carlson’s Fox News exit wipes out $690 million in value

Tucker Carlson, one of the most popular Fox News prime-time hosts, was worth more than $690 million to the parent company. At least that is what trading in the stock indicates.

Shares of Fox Corp. sank as much as 5.4 per cent Monday, the most since October, after the company said Carlson had left with immediate effect. The departure comes just days after the network agreed to pay US$787 million to settle a defamation suit brought by Dominion Voting Systems Inc.

As speculation over Carlson’s next landing spot spread, investors snapped up shares of Rumble Inc., the Peter Thiel-backed conservative video network, and Digital World Acquisition Corp., the special-purpose acquisition company merging with Trump Media. Both stocks erased declines, with Rumble stock rallying as much as 3.9 per cent, while Digital World gained 2.2 per cent.

Carlson’s exit is “definitely going to leave a mark on Fox,” said Matthew Tuttle, chief executive and CIO of Tuttle Capital Management, who bought shares of Rumble.

Bloomberg.com