Murdoch Succession Deal, ASML’s $1.5B AI Bet, SpaceX’s $17B Spectrum Play & Anglo American’s $53B Mining Merger

9th September 2025

The Murdoch family saga ends as Lachlan Murdoch takes the reins of Fox and News Corp while siblings cash out. ASML cements itself as Europe’s AI heavyweight with a $1.5 billion stake in Mistral. SpaceX makes a $17 billion spectrum grab to supercharge Starlink’s 5G push. And Anglo American seals a $53 billion merger with Canada’s Teck Resources in the biggest mining tie-up in over a decade. All this and more in today’s Read It And Eat!

Major Headlines

• Real-life 'Succession' ends: Lachlan Murdoch takes control and siblings take cash

The Murdoch family has reached a deal that will see Rupert Murdoch's politically conservative eldest son Lachlan Murdoch cement control of the family media empire that includes Fox News and the Wall Street Journal. The agreement, announced on Monday, ends a family brawl over who will control one of the most high-profile global media groups and puts to rest questions of succession within the Murdoch family after its patriarch's death. 

The drama is considered to be one of the inspirations for the television series "Succession," about the infighting of the members of a media dynasty. Its real-life resolution preserves the conservative tilt of Murdoch's media outlets.Under the deal, Rupert's children James Murdoch, Elisabeth Murdoch and Prudence MacLeod are each expected to receive about $1.1 billion in proceeds, according to a source. They agreed to sell their personal holdings in Fox and News Corp over a period of six months, according to the announcement. 

As part of the deal, the companies said on Monday that the children would receive cash from the sale of about 16.9 million shares of Fox Corp (FOXA.O), Class B voting stock and about 14.2 million shares of News Corp (NWSA.O), Class B common stock. The sale, priced at a roughly 4.5% discount to the last closing price of both companies, raised around $1.37 billion. A new family trust will be created to benefit Lachlan Murdoch, and his younger siblings Grace and Chloe Murdoch, who are Rupert's children from his marriage to Wendi Deng Murdoch.This trust, worth about $3.3 billion according to the source, will hold 36% of Fox's Class B common stock and 33% of News Corp's Class B shares, the companies' statements said. Reuters

• ASML becomes biggest Mistral investor in boost to Europe's AI ambitions

  
  

Dutch chip equipment maker ASML has invested 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion) to become the biggest investor in French artificial intelligence startup Mistral AI in a significant boost to Europe's AI ambitions. Mistral AI raised a total of 1.7 billion euros ($2 billion) in its latest funding round, it said on Tuesday. ASML's investment made it Mistral's main shareholder with a stake of about 11%.

The deal is a boost for Europe's AI ambitions, pairing the continent's most credible rival to U.S. giants OpenAI, Meta (META.O), and Alphabet's Google (GOOGL.O), with one of its largest tech companies. The latest funding round gives Mistral an 11.7 billion-euro valuation, Mistral said in a statement, becoming the most valuable AI company in Europe. ASML will also partner with Mistral to integrate AI models across its semiconductor equipment portfolio and gain a board seat on the French startup's strategic committee through finance chief Roger Dassen. Mistral, founded in 2023 by former researchers from Google DeepMind and Meta, has positioned itself as Europe's AI alternative to the U.S. and is a centerpiece of France's strategy to become a leading AI competitor.

However, it is still worth only a fraction of its U.S. peers. OpenAI is eyeing a valuation of around $500 billion in a potential stock sale, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters in August, more than 40 times Mistral's valuation. The Dutch company has recently strengthened its French connections by appointing former French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire as a special adviser to its executive board. It is also led by French CEO Christophe Fouquet, who took the helm in 2024. "It helps that ASML is well connected to the industrial and political establishment to pick and choose its partners," said ING analyst Jan Frederik Slijkerman.  Reuters

• Robinhood Is Finally Joining the S&P 500

Online broker Robinhood Markets will join the S&P 500 index after riding the popularity of cryptocurrencies to profitability and an all-time high stock price. The company is set to join the benchmark index on Sept. 22, along with mobile technology platform AppLovin and construction company Emcor Group. 

Robinhood is having one of its best years since going public in 2021 after struggling early on. It closed below its IPO price of $38 on its first day of trading. The stock remained volatile over the next few years, finishing 2023 at $12.74 per share. The stock has tripled in 2025 so far, trading at more than $100 per share. That follows a similar gain in 2024. An increased interest in cryptocurrency amid a friendlier regulatory environment for the digital currency has helped turn around the online broker’s profits. The company lost 61 cents per share in 2023, but sharply reversed course in 2024 for a profit of $1.56 per share. Wall Street expects the company to close out 2025 with $1.64 per share in profit.

The company has been benefitting from the government’s hands off approach to cryptocurrency and regulation during President Donald Trump’s tenure. Earlier this year, the Securities and Exchange Commission closed an investigation into the company. The SEC declined to pursue enforcement action over allegations that Robinhood failed to register certain crypto assets on its platform as securities. Robinhood was also at the center of the original “meme stock” craze in 2021 that centered on heavy trading of GameStop and AMC Entertainment. The company had to temporarily restrict trading of those companies amid a dispute between online activist retail investors and institutional investors. Shares of Robinhood surged 15.8%, while AppLovin shares jumped 11.6%. Yahoo.Finance

• Vodafone’s latest influencer isn’t real, it’s AI

The German subsidiary of British telecom Vodafone used an AI influencer to advertise a promotion on its TikTok account, marking its most recent foray into AI-generated advertising. Last year, the company published an entirely AI-generated advertisement.  The recent experiment by Vodafone comes as AI influencers become more commonplace online. British telecom company Vodafone is testing the limits of technology by using an AI influencer in its advertisements.

In a video uploaded to the TikTok account of its German subsidiary, a young brunette woman can be seen talking up the company’s connectivity speeds and a 120-euro cashback promotion.  Yet, the woman doesn’t really exist. In reply to a user who picked up on the telltale signs of AI, including the disappearing and reappearing moles on her chin, the company noted that it was experimenting with the technology. “…we’re trying out different styles—as AI is now such a big part of everyday life, people are experimenting with it in advertising too,” the company responded in German.

The telecom company has in the past experimented with using AI in advertisements, including in an advertisement “The Rhythm of Life,” published last year. The advertisement started with a birth followed by miscellaneous images of a child playing video games, a person skydiving, and a wedding intertwined with Vodafone branding.

Vodafone’s most recent TikTok experiment comes as AI influencers become more commonplace. One AI influencer, Lil Miquela, has 2.4 million followers and charges $73,920 per post, according to The New York Times. Lil Miquela has taken selfies with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), has attended the VMAs, and complains on her Instagram about deepfakes of her proliferating online. In the background, the influencer is controlled by a team of people at tech company Dapper Labs. Yahoo.Finance

Minor Headlines 

• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Threatens to Punch Pulte "in the fucking face" New York Times 

  
  

• Robinhood Is Finally Joining the S&P 500 Yahoo.Finance

  
  

• US and Indian VCs just formed a $1B+ alliance to fund India’s deep tech startups TechCrunch 

  
  

• Google brings Material 3 Expressive to Pixel 6 and newer devices, along with other features TechCrunch 

  
  

• French government collapses as MPs vote to oust prime minister BBC

  
  

• Americans face biggest increase in health insurance costs in 15 years Financial Times 

  
  

• Y Combinator-backed Motion raises fresh $38M to build the Microsoft Office of AI agents TechCrunch 

  
  

• Norway ruling Labour Party wins reelection while populists score gains Reuters