Dow Jones Says Deal With News Corp Not Yet Finalized

Posted on July 6, 2007

The are reports like this one from The Business that suggests Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation has completed a $5 billion deal to acquire financial news publisher Dow Jones.

Rupert Murdoch has succeeded with his $5 billion bid for Dow Jones, owners of the Wall Street Journal, according to sources acting for the Dow Jones board. Negotiations have been completed and the board is confident the terms of the deal will be accepted by the Bancroft family, which controls a majority of voting shares in Dow Jones, over the next few days. A formal announcement is expected next week.
Murdoch's News Corporation will take over America's most prestigious financial publisher at the price he originally offered on April 17, when he proposed $60 a share when the stock was trading at $36, a 67% premium.
After lengthy talks involving many lawyers, the deal includes a legally-enforceable agreement with Murdoch which will supposedly guarantee the integrity and independence of the Wall Street Journal's journalism.

However, a Reuters news story cites Dow Jones representatives and Bancroft family members who say the deal is not yet finalized.

"There is no change in the status of the discussions currently under way," a spokesman for the Bancrofts said. "News Corp. is continuing to conduct due diligence and the negotiations are not complete."
Some three dozen Bancroft family members control Dow Jones through a combined ownership of 64 percent of voting shares.
Murdoch and the Dow Jones board last week reached a tentative agreement on creating an independent board to oversee the editorial integrity of the Journal and other Dow Jones operations, an element key to securing the Bancrofts' approval.

If Murdoch acquires Dow Jones its famous Wall Street Journal newspaper will become just one of many that News Corp owns. Reuters says News Corp already owns nearly 120 newspapers including "the Times and The Sun in Britain, the Australian in Australia and the New York Post in the United States."