NEW YORK CITY, New York: The long-running question of who would control Rupert Murdoch's vast media empire has finally been answered. Lachlan Murdoch, the eldest son and longtime conservative standard-bearer, will take sole charge, while his older siblings cash out in a settlement that ends years of speculation and legal wrangling.

The deal, announced this week, secures Lachlan's leadership of Fox News and the Wall Street Journal's parent company. James, Elisabeth, and Prudence Murdoch will each receive about US$1.1 billion from the sale of their holdings in Fox and News Corp. The agreement also puts to rest the succession drama that inspired the hit HBO series Succession.

The three siblings agreed to sell around 16.9 million Fox Class B voting shares and 14.2 million News Corp Class B shares, raising about $1.37 billion. The sale came at a roughly 4.5 percent discount to last week's closing prices.

A new family trust worth about $3.3 billion will be created to benefit Lachlan and Rupert's two younger daughters, Grace and Chloe, from his marriage to Wendi Deng Murdoch. That trust will control 36 percent of Fox's Class B stock and 33 percent of News Corp's.

The settlement follows a bitter courtroom battle in Reno, Nevada, last autumn, where Rupert Murdoch, now 94, attempted to change the terms of a trust created during his 1999 divorce from his second wife, Anna. Under the original trust, voting rights were to be shared equally among Prudence, Elisabeth, James, and Lachlan.

Rupert and Lachlan had pushed to amend the trust to block any challenge from the three siblings, who are seen as more politically moderate. But in December, a probate court ruled that an attempt was made in "bad faith," opening the way for a negotiated resolution.

Industry observers say the outcome cements Fox News' role as a conservative powerhouse in U.S. politics. "You know that there will always be a conservative guardian of Fox News. And frankly, if I were a shareholder, I would really think this was a very good move," said Claire Enders, CEO of UK-based Enders Analysis.

Fox News remains the top U.S. cable news network, and with Lachlan firmly in control, the Murdoch empire's direction appears clear, even as Rupert steps further back from the helm of the empire he built.