21st Century Fox’s $80bn (£48bn) proposal to buy Time Warner -has Murdoch lost his Midas touch?

Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox group has withdrawn its bid for Time Warner (Getty Images)

Once the ultimate dealmaker, Rupert Murdoch is licking his wounds after the rebuttal of 21st Century Fox’s $80bn (£48bn) proposal to buy Time Warner.

Mr Murdoch said the refusal of Time Warner to engage in discussions, coupled with the negative reaction of Fox’s share price, made the transaction, which would have created a new global media behemoth, “no longer attractive to Fox shareholders”.

Fox is now looking inwards with Mr Murdoch’s board adding another $6bn to the company’s stock buy-back programme.

While Fox reported an almost 17 per cent rise in quarterly revenue last week, News Corp, the publishing arm of Mr Murdoch’s business, which includes The Sun and The Times, continues to pose problems.

Tulisa Contostavlos, the former X-Factor presenter who was cleared of drugs charges following a cocaine sting by The Sun’s Fake Sheikh Mazher Mahmood, plans to sue News Corp in the US over the affair.