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July 24, 2008 8:57:01 AM CDT

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Bancrofts Mull Murdoch Buyout

Posted Jul 24, 07 6:20 AM CDT in Business,  US 

(Newser) – The Bancroft family met yesterday in Boston to consider Rupert Murdoch's $5B offer for Dow Jones, but is expected to take at least until Friday to vote on the deal, Reuters reports. Christopher Bancroft, who opposes the sale, showed up sporting a baseball cap with the words "Bite me" on it; he told reporters that the family hadn't reached a consensus.

The three dozen family members, who together control 64% of the vote in the company that owns the Wall Street Journal, were briefed for several hours by financial advisers on the deal, which pegs their shares at $60—a 65% premium over current market value. Then they deliberated in private. Concerns still exist that the Journal's independence won't be adequately protected, one participant told the Journal.

Source Reuters

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Co. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)   (Associated Press)
Co. Monday afternoon, July 23, 2007. The Bancroft family owns 25 percent of Dow Jones but controls 64 percent of the shareholder vote through a special class of shares that have 10 votes each, versus...   (Associated Press)
Barron's and The Wall Street Journal, both owned by Dow Jones, are shown, Monday, July 23, 2007 at a New York newsstand. Bancroft family members, who own controlling interest in Dow Jones, are meeting...   (Associated Press)
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Dow Jones  • Rupert Murdoch  • News Corp  • mergers and acquisitions  • Wall Street Journal  • buyout  • Bancroft family  • stock


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