Two years of back and forth negotiations with Liberty Media chairman and erstwhile associate John Malone appear to have worn down News Corp. mogul Rupert Murdoch’s Mr. Nice Guy routine.

Grilled about progress of talks over buying back or swapping out Liberty’s $11 billion stake in News Corp., Murdoch parried adroitly at first. “We’re not in any rush or hurry at all,” he told reporters. “We’re quite relaxed.”

Not too relaxed, evidently, as his poison pill to thwart Malone was extended by shareholders through Nov. 2008.

Pressed further, he added: “If someone wants to buy an asset from us or buy the whole company, we expect them to come through the front door.

“This is a backdoor … pursuit of the company,” Murdoch seethed of Malone’s style.

Maybe Murdoch was none too pleased Liberty chose to withhold their votes from electing the company’s slate of board members. Last year, Malone voted in favor of the board. “I don’t know what happened that has changed their mind.”

Most Wall Street analysts believe News Corp. will ultimately swap its controlling stake in DirecTV Group for Liberty’s News Corp. It was unclear if the tone of Friday’s comments was merely artful posturing or that of a man losing patience.

(Photo by Chip East / Reuters)