He did, but it was framed as "News Corp understands" with a bunch of bullet points. Which is a bit like saying "we're being told this, and we're obliged to relay it, but don't blame us if it's wrong."
Normally you wouldn't pay much attention to this lead-in but in this case News Corp is the majority shareholder. It's an interesting construction in this light. He's saying this is what the CEO has told shareholders.
In reality, it's quite possible they've all known about this for weeks, but have been embargoed.
It might also be an outright white lie to give the impression of doing due diligence in the job search process but actually having Ikin earmarked for a place at the club since right back when he failed to get the CEO job.
I'm just making all this up, but this isn't your average slow news day puff piece.