Bancroft set to decide on Dow Jones' fate
Monday, July 23, 2007
MEMBERS of the Bancroft family, who have controlled Dow Jones & Co since 1902, gather today to begin debating whether to sell the storied US media firm to Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.
Murdoch, a global media baron, has been awaiting an answer from the Bancroft clan for three months since News Corp launched a hostile US$5 billion dollar takeover bid for Dow Jones, and its crown jewel, The Wall Street Journal.
The Dow Jones board has already backed a deal, but it is unclear whether the Bancrofts, some of whom have vied to find other suitors for Dow Jones, will also approve a tie up with News Corp amid family fears about editorial meddling.
A source, who requested anonymity, said the family would convene in Boston on Monday, but would not make any "immediate" decision on News Corp's offer.
Their decision would be made in the "days" following the meeting, the source said. The family members control a majority 64 per cent of the special share voting rights in Dow Jones.
Murdoch's bid for Dow Jones, which at US$60 per share marked a sharp premium over Dow Jones share price prior to the offer, was initially rebuffed by the family.
Late Friday Brad Greenspan, the founder of the MySpace social network website, unveiled a counter bid which could threaten Murdoch's plans.
Greenspan revised offer calls for his investment group to provide a loan of between US$400 million and US$600 million to Bancroft family members "to buy out liquidity-seeking family members" at US$60 per share matching the News Corp offer.
The Independent Association of Publishers' Employees (IAPE) union, which represents many Dow Jones staffers, and some Wall Street Journal journalists have voiced fierce opposition to a deal with Murdoch, claiming he would use the Journal as a vehicle for his other sprawling commercial interests.
Jim Ottoway, who is not a Bancroft, but whose family wields seven percent of Dow Jones voting power, urged the Bancrofts to flatly reject Murdoch's overtures in a Financial Times editorial Friday.
Murdoch has agreed to make some concessions over editorial independence in a bid to woo the Bancrofts and other Dow Jones shareholders have also reportedly put pressure on the family to sell out to News Corp.
Dow Jones chief executive officer Richard Zannino has described the family's stance on the proposal as too close to call, a source who spoke to him told the Wall Street Journal last week.
One family member, Leslie Hill, has been seeking to tempt other potential investors to make a play for Dow Jones, which also owns Dow Jones Newswires and other media assets, such as supermarket king Ron Burkle. It was unclear late Friday if she had courted Greenspan, but the IAPE has also been scouting for other suitors.
Dow Jones reported a second quarter net profit of US$21 million last week, marking a fall of 27 per cent from the same period a year earlier, largely due to charges for restructuring and stock compensation.
AFP
Murdoch, a global media baron, has been awaiting an answer from the Bancroft clan for three months since News Corp launched a hostile US$5 billion dollar takeover bid for Dow Jones, and its crown jewel, The Wall Street Journal.
The Dow Jones board has already backed a deal, but it is unclear whether the Bancrofts, some of whom have vied to find other suitors for Dow Jones, will also approve a tie up with News Corp amid family fears about editorial meddling.
A source, who requested anonymity, said the family would convene in Boston on Monday, but would not make any "immediate" decision on News Corp's offer.
Their decision would be made in the "days" following the meeting, the source said. The family members control a majority 64 per cent of the special share voting rights in Dow Jones.
Murdoch's bid for Dow Jones, which at US$60 per share marked a sharp premium over Dow Jones share price prior to the offer, was initially rebuffed by the family.
Late Friday Brad Greenspan, the founder of the MySpace social network website, unveiled a counter bid which could threaten Murdoch's plans.
Greenspan revised offer calls for his investment group to provide a loan of between US$400 million and US$600 million to Bancroft family members "to buy out liquidity-seeking family members" at US$60 per share matching the News Corp offer.
The Independent Association of Publishers' Employees (IAPE) union, which represents many Dow Jones staffers, and some Wall Street Journal journalists have voiced fierce opposition to a deal with Murdoch, claiming he would use the Journal as a vehicle for his other sprawling commercial interests.
Jim Ottoway, who is not a Bancroft, but whose family wields seven percent of Dow Jones voting power, urged the Bancrofts to flatly reject Murdoch's overtures in a Financial Times editorial Friday.
Murdoch has agreed to make some concessions over editorial independence in a bid to woo the Bancrofts and other Dow Jones shareholders have also reportedly put pressure on the family to sell out to News Corp.
Dow Jones chief executive officer Richard Zannino has described the family's stance on the proposal as too close to call, a source who spoke to him told the Wall Street Journal last week.
One family member, Leslie Hill, has been seeking to tempt other potential investors to make a play for Dow Jones, which also owns Dow Jones Newswires and other media assets, such as supermarket king Ron Burkle. It was unclear late Friday if she had courted Greenspan, but the IAPE has also been scouting for other suitors.
Dow Jones reported a second quarter net profit of US$21 million last week, marking a fall of 27 per cent from the same period a year earlier, largely due to charges for restructuring and stock compensation.
AFP
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