Media magnate Rupert Murdoch has launched a...

Media magnate Rupert Murdoch has launched a $535-million takeover bid for British publisher William Collins PLC, in which he already owns 41.7%, but the company reacted bitterly to the offer. “We emphatically reject these unwelcome offers and will be vigorously fighting them,” said Collins Chairman Ian Chapman. U.S.-based Murdoch, who heads a global media empire that includes 20th Century Fox and Harper & Row, as well as scores of newspapers, made a bid for Collins in 1981. Murdoch offered to pay $11.70 for each common share and $9.75 for each non-voting share.