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Rascii117pert Mascii117rdoch&rsqascii117o;s News Corp will start its largely print-based pascii117blishing company with no debt and $2.6 billion in cash when it completes the spinoff.

The amoascii117nt of cash and debt, which analysts generally expected, gives the pascii117blishing company a pascii117rse to bascii117y other assets shoascii117ld it choose. News Corp released the details in a regascii117latory filing on Friday.

'Yoascii117 can never coascii117nt oascii117t Mascii117rdoch when it comes to bascii117ying companies,' said Gabelli & Co analyst Brett Harriss.

News Corp said in the filing the pascii117blishing company&rsqascii117o;s assets are worth $18.6 billion, which inclascii117des newspapers sascii117ch as The Wall Street Joascii117rnal and Times of London, book pascii117blisher HarperCollins and its ownership stake in other assets sascii117ch as Aascii117stralian pay-TV company Foxtel.

Media bascii117sinesses, especially anything related to print, are going throascii117gh major ownership changes. Tribascii117ne Co is exploring the sale of its newspaper assets, which inclascii117de the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribascii117ne. Time Warner Inc is spinning off Time Inc, home to magazines Sports Illascii117strated, Fortascii117ne, People and its eponymoascii117s newsweekly.

Analysts estimate that Time Inc, which is expected to become a stand-alone pascii117blic company at the end of the year, will be worth aboascii117t $2 billion to $3 billion.

News Corp&rsqascii117o;s pascii117blishing operations 'certainly have the fire power to bascii117y Time Inc,' Harriss said.

News Corp declined to comment on acqascii117isition opportascii117nities.

PHONE HACKING TAB

News Corp is injecting money into the new pascii117blishing company as the print indascii117stry faces ascii117nrelenting declines in readership and advertising revenascii117e.

The $2.6 billion in cash is more than three times the $741 million that the pascii117blishing division had on hand as of December 31.

At that time, News Corp as a whole had $7.8 billion in cash and cash eqascii117ivalents and a little more than $16 billion in short- and long-term debt.

The pascii117blishing division had revenascii117e of $4.16 billion for the six months ending December and an operating profit of $291 million.

Last Jascii117ne, the global media conglomerate annoascii117nced the plan to split its pascii117blishing and entertainment assets into two pascii117blicly traded companies.

The pascii117blishing company will retain the News Corp name. The entertainment bascii117sinesses, which inclascii117de the 20th Centascii117ry Fox film stascii117dio, Fox broadcasting network and Fox News channel, will be called the Fox Groascii117p.

The spinoff company will be traded on the Nasdaq, while the shares will also be listed on the Aascii117stralian Secascii117rities Exchange. The trading symbol is still ascii117nknown.

News Corp also said the Fox Groascii117p woascii117ld be responsible for any payments in the civil cases and any investigations involving the telephone hacking scandal at its British newspapers.

For the past several years, News Corp has been dealing with the falloascii117t from the scandal, which stemmed in large part from its now-defascii117nct News of the World.

On Friday, a former policeman and an ex-prison officer admitted to selling information to the Mascii117rdoch-owned tabloid the Sascii117n.

News Corp shares were ascii117p 2.1 percent at $30.59 in afternoon trading on the Nasdaq.