MUMBAI: It’s done and over with. Media baron Rupert Murdoch and his third wife Wendi Deng got divorced on Wednesday. And there was none of the drama that is normally associated with the end of celebrity marriages. The duo –first Murdoch and then Wendi – arrived quietly in the New York Supreme Court in Manhattan and agreed to the terms of the divorce before Judge Ellen Gesmer, and the hearing was over in just about 15 minutes.

The couple had signed one prenuptial and two postnuptial agreements delineating the division of assets in the event of a divorce. As part of the final terms, Wendi will continue to keep the couple's apartment on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan valued at $44 million and their home in Beijing.

Murdoch and Wendi have two daughters 12 year old Grace Helen, and 10 year old Chloe. The octogenarian has four other children from his two earlier marriages – Prudence, James, Lachlan and Elisabeth.

Murdoch’s personal fortune which was estimated in excess of $13 billion is held in a family trust in which all this six children have an equal economic interest though his two youngest daughters have no voting interest.  The trust owns about 40 per cent stock News Corp and Twenty First Century Fox. News Corp is the owner of India’s $1billion plus turnover Star India network which runs India’s No 1 Hindi GEC Star Plus and also India’s leading sports television network.

Married for 14 years, the couple decided to part ways when Murdoch said he wanted a divorce in June this year as the marriage had irretrievably broken down.  They later issued a joint statement which said: “We are pleased to announce that we have reached an amicable settlement of all matters relating to our divorce. We move forward with mutual respect and a shared interest in the health and happiness of our two daughters. We will not comment on this any further."