DATE: Wednesday, April 23, 1997             TAG: 9704230469

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BLOOMBERG WIRE SERVICE 
                                            LENGTH:   25 lines

MURDOCH CLOSE TO BUYING SHARE OF IFE, CNBC REPORTS

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. is close to buying a 30 percent stake in Virginia Beach-based International Family Entertainment Inc., CNBC reported.

IFE is the parent of the Family Channel cable network. CNBC reported that News Corp. would pay $350 million to $400 million, or $25 to $28 for each Class A share.

Spokespersons at both IFE and News Corp. declined comment.

CNBC cited ``sources close to the transaction'' who said News Corp.'s board has met to sign off on the deal. News Corp. would use its preferred shares to buy 9.7 million IFE Class A shares held by Liberty Media, a unit of Tele-Communications Inc., and 4.2 million Class A shares held by Regent University, CNBC said. The company will make no offer for Class B shares, the cable network reported.

Pat Robertson, who retains controlling interest in IFE, is negotiating with News Corp. to sell his stake in the future at a ``significant'' premium, CNBC reported. KEYWORDS: THE FAMILY CHANNEL

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