S&P: News Corp. unaffected

Standard & Poor's said its rating and outlook on News Corp. (BBB-/positive/--) are not affected at this time by the company's plan to acquire IGN Entertainment Inc., an internet video game information firm, for $650 million in cash.

The move comes soon after announcements of the acquisitions of Intermix Media Inc. for $580 million (before lending $70 million to Intermix to buy out the minority interest in MySpace.com) and Scout Media Inc. for $60 million. Beyond this, CEO Rupert Murdoch has indicated some interest in acquiring a search engine and the potential for another roughly $1 billion of acquisitions.

Separately, the company announced that it has bought out minority shareholders in Central and Eastern European outdoor advertising company News Out of Home BV. S&P said it believes that other traditional media acquisitions in this region may be under consideration.

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