Rupert Murdoch resigns from string of UK directorships

Rupert Murdoch resigned from a string of boards in News Corp., according to the Associated Press.

A News International spokeswoman confirmed that he has resigned as director of NI Group, Times Newspaper Holdings and News Corp. Investments in the UK, the AP reported.

The boards he stepped down from include those that oversee Britain's The Sun, The Times and The Sunday Times, according to British newspaper The Daily Telegraph.

Details of which of News Corp.'s US boards he quit were not yet disclosed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, according to The Telegraph.

More on GlobalPost: News Corp. to be split in two, Rupert Murdoch confirms

The BBC noted that News Corp. plans to split into two firms, with the newspaper and publishing branch separating from the television and film branch.

Murdoch is expected to chair both businesses but only be chief executive of the broadcast side, said the BBC.

The Telegraph noted that News Corp. played down the news, saying Murdoch's resignations were "nothing more than a corporate housecleaning exercise prior to the company split."

More on GlobalPost: Rupert Murdoch 'not fit' to run international company, say British MPs

There was speculation last year that News Corp. could seek to sell the newspaper part of the Murdoch empire after the phone hacking scandal, said Reuters.

An internal e-mail sent by Tom Mockridge, the head of the newspaper arm of News Corp., said, "He (Murdoch) remains fully committed to our business as chairman of what will become the largest newspaper and digital group in the world."