Bancroft family tilting to Murdoch
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
MEMBERS of the Bancroft family, which has controlled Dow Jones & Co. for more than a century, appeared close to accepting a five-billion-dollar takeover offer from Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday.
The Wall Street Journal, the crown jewel of Dow Jones's assets, reported the outcome was too close to call in the final hours of deliberations amid "heated" negotiating ahead of yesterday's deadline, citing people familiar with the matter.
The family, which controls 64 per cent of the voting power in Dow Jones through a complex web of trusts, has been sharply split over Murdoch's hostile 60-dollar-per share bid.
The offer represents a huge premium over the share price just prior to the offer made three months ago, but some family members are concerned that a takeover by News Corp would damage the integrity of Dow Jones's businesses, including the Journal, the leading US business daily.
Members of the family had met last Monday to consider Murdoch's offer after it had been endorsed by the Dow Jones board two weeks earlier.
Michael Elefante, the family's lead trustee, gave members a 5pm (2100 GMT) deadline to present him with individual votes, the Journal reported Monday. Elefante indicated to some Dow Jones board members late Sunday that he has slightly less than the 30 per cent of the overall vote, while News Corp probably needs family votes representing about 30 per cent of the overall vote to succeed, the newspaper said.
As of late Sunday, almost 28 percent of the family votes supported the deal, according to a person close to the board, the newspaper said.AFP
The Wall Street Journal, the crown jewel of Dow Jones's assets, reported the outcome was too close to call in the final hours of deliberations amid "heated" negotiating ahead of yesterday's deadline, citing people familiar with the matter.
The family, which controls 64 per cent of the voting power in Dow Jones through a complex web of trusts, has been sharply split over Murdoch's hostile 60-dollar-per share bid.
The offer represents a huge premium over the share price just prior to the offer made three months ago, but some family members are concerned that a takeover by News Corp would damage the integrity of Dow Jones's businesses, including the Journal, the leading US business daily.
Members of the family had met last Monday to consider Murdoch's offer after it had been endorsed by the Dow Jones board two weeks earlier.
Michael Elefante, the family's lead trustee, gave members a 5pm (2100 GMT) deadline to present him with individual votes, the Journal reported Monday. Elefante indicated to some Dow Jones board members late Sunday that he has slightly less than the 30 per cent of the overall vote, while News Corp probably needs family votes representing about 30 per cent of the overall vote to succeed, the newspaper said.
As of late Sunday, almost 28 percent of the family votes supported the deal, according to a person close to the board, the newspaper said.AFP
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