The divorce between 82-year-old Rupert Murdoch and his 44-year-old wife Wendi Deng was finalized, Wednesday, at the Manhattan Supreme Court, ending their 14 years of marriage.
The exact terms of the settlement were not disclosed but both parties are believed to have resolved the matter "amicably."
"We are pleased to announce that we have reached an amicable settlement of all matters relating to our divorce," a joint statement issued by Murdoch and Deng read. "We move forward with mutual respect and a shared interest in the health and happiness of our two daughters. We will not comment on this any further."
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Ellen Gesmer presided over the settlement, which had been worked out earlier, and with both parties in agreement, it took less than half an hour to get over.
There were some issues over the $44 million Fifth Avenue apartment, a home in Deng's native China, and custody of their two young daughters Chloe, 10, and Grace, 11. However, the lawyers for both parties said their clients had worked them out and Deng would be allowed to keep the Fifth Avenue apartment.
Murdoch had filed for divorce from Deng in June, because, per court filings, "the relationship between the husband and wife had broken down irretrievably."
The divorce settlement would have no effect on the management or ownership of Murdoch's business empire, that includes Wall Street Journal, Fox News and 20th Century Fox movie studio.
According to reports, Deng was unhappy that Murdoch's children from previous marriages had voting rights in the family trust that controls the companies, but Chloe and Grace didn't, though they held economic interest in them.
The divorce filing took place some days before Murdoch announced a split of his business into two companies - one for publishing assets and the other for entertainment.
Murdoch met Deng in 1997 at a company cocktail party in Hong Kong. The Australian-born media mogul, who net worth is estimated at $9.4 billion by Forbes, married Deng two years later, and bare weeks after his divorce from second wife Anna Torv.
