Rupert Murdoch of News Corp has stepped down as a director from a string of boards overseeing the Times, Sun, and Sunday Times newspapers in Britain, according to an internal memo of the company.

Resignations from the boards came after an announcement in June that News Corp will get split into two separate companies, a smaller publishing division and a much larger entertainment and TV group.

"I wanted to let you know that Rupert Murdoch has resigned as director of a number of companies, including NI Group Limited, known to most of you as News International, and Times Newspapers Holdings Limited," Tom Mockridge, the head of Murdoch's British newspaper arm, said in the email, seen by Reuters.

"As you may be aware, Rupert resigned from a number of UK boards, including News Group Newspapers and Times Newspapers Limited, some time ago. He has also stepped down from more than a dozen boards of companies with interests in the U.S., Australia and India."

The decision formed part of the preparation of the business for the impending restructuring into two companies, Mockridge said. "He (Murdoch) remains fully committed to our business as chairman of what will become the largest newspaper and digital group in the world."

The devotion of Murdoch to the papers and ongoing legal cases stemming from a phone hacking scandal at the now-defunct News of the World tabloid had been seen as a barrier to that option.