“Staple Street’s Investment in Dominion Voting Systems: A High-Stakes Legal Battle with Fox News”

Private equity firm Blackstone Group is making headlines for its latest endeavor: taking on the Murdochs. The firm, known for its aggressive investment strategies, has reportedly acquired stakes in several companies that compete directly with Murdoch-owned media outlets. This move comes amid a broader push by Blackstone to expand in the media industry, and has raised questions about the implications for the Murdoch empire. In this article, we dive into the inner workings of the private equity firm and analyze their strategy for taking on one of the most powerful media families in the world.


Owens, a Harvard Business School graduate, started his career at Lehman Brothers before moving on to Carlyle Group, where he specialized in buyouts in the consumer, retail, media, and communications sectors. Yaghoobzadeh worked at the boutique firm, Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, before joining Carlyle Group with Owens. In 2009, they founded Staple Street, a company that manages around $US900 million in assets today. Staple Street is known for investing in riskier companies and conducting corporate carve-outs of businesses that are no longer core to their previous owners. Dominion Voting Systems, in which Staple Street bought a majority stake in 2018, fits perfectly into its portfolio. Dominion’s defamation proceedings against Fox News have been led by Penta Group, a Washington PR firm co-founded by Republican Tony Fratto, who previously worked at the White House as deputy assistant and press secretary to George W. Bush. Dominion has claimed it lost $US600 million in profits and another $US1 billion from its enterprise value due to Fox’s coverage, a figure that Fox has vigorously pushed back on, calling it “fanciful.”


As we wrap up our deep dive into the inner workings of the private equity firm taking on one of the most influential families in media, it’s clear that this is a story that will continue to unfold in the coming months and years. With so much at stake, it’s important to keep a close eye on how this investment plays out and what it could mean for the future of media and entertainment. In the meantime, one thing is certain — the battle for control over one of the world’s largest media empires is far from over, and the private equity firm at the center of it all is a force to be reckoned with. Stay tuned for more updates and insights as this story continues to develop.