WSJ: Murdoch Clinches Votes for DJ Deal

zippyjuan · 07-31-2007, 11:26 AM

http://my.earthlink.net/article/top?...0731-130238702

Quote:

WSJ: Murdoch Clinches Votes for DJ Deal
By SETH SUTEL (AP Business Writer)
From Associated Press
July 31, 2007 12:04 PM EDT
NEW YORK - Rupert Murdoch's bid for Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones & Co. appears to have won enough support from the company's controlling shareholders to ensure its passage, the newspaper reported Tuesday.

The Journal said, quoting unnamed people familiar with the situation, that Bancroft family members representing 32 percent of the company's vote had agreed to the deal. A family spokesman declined to comment.

Murdoch's News Corp. must still decide whether it is comfortable with that level of support in order to proceed. With some public shareholders likely to abstain, News Corp. wants a solid majority of votes committed to the deal.

Dow Jones shares were already sharply higher Tuesday on hopes that a deal was close, and were getting closer and closer to Murdoch's offering price of $60 a share, indicating growing confidence the deal will go through. In early afternoon trading, Dow Jones stock rose $6.21, or 12 percent at $57.77.

The Bancroft family controls 64 percent of the company's shareholder vote. Given that many of the public shareholders representing 29 percent of Dow Jones' vote are likely to support a deal, Murdoch only needs about half of the Bancroft family's block in order to win.

News Corp. has said it would only proceed if it felt there was enough support among the Bancrofts, but it hasn't specified what that level is. A News Corp. spokesman said Monday that the company was "highly unlikely" to proceed with the deal if support from the family remained at the level reported at that time - about 29 percent.

News Corp.'s board is scheduled to meet Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET, and a decision to seal the deal could come at that time. Dow Jones' board is set to meet later Tuesday, at 7 p.m.

Members of the Bancroft family, which has controlled Dow Jones for a century, had a 5 p.m. deadline Monday to tell the family's lead trustee how they would vote on Murdoch's offer.

Negotiations were apparently continuing over other matters in an attempt to convince holdout Bancroft votes to sign on to the deal, The Wall Street Journal reported. The paper said a proposal under discussion would have News Corp. pay the Bancroft family's advisory fees - which could total at least $30 million - if it received the support of at least one of two key holdout shareholders.

Representatives of News Corp., Dow Jones and the Bancroft family all declined to comment on the continuing negotiations on Tuesday.

The Bancrofts are a diverse clan and their voting interest in the company is held through a complex series of privately held trusts, making the outcome difficult to predict.

Over the past few weeks investors have been steadily pushing Dow Jones shares below the $60 price that Murdoch has offered, reflecting increasing doubts about the deal going through.

The Bancroft family has been deeply divided over whether to sell to Murdoch, largely over concerns that his management style could affect the papers' coverage.

Murdoch says any concerns about corporate meddling in the Journal's news coverage are unwarranted. News Corp. has agreed to create a committee that would have to sign off on any decision to hire or fire top editors at the paper.

In a lengthy letter to fellow family members last week, Bancroft descendant Crawford Hill urged them to vote for a sale, saying the family hadn't taken an active enough role in overseeing Dow Jones and was now "paying the price for our passivity over the past 25 years."

Dow Jones' board has tentatively approved the deal, and the final decision now rests with the Bancrofts. Besides several Bancroft family members, including Dow Jones director Christopher Bancroft, Murdoch's bid is also being opposed by former board member Jim Ottaway Jr., whose family controls 7 percent of the shareholder vote.

Jeffbx · 08-01-2007, 05:58 AM

"The Fox News Journal"?

brainsmile · 08-01-2007, 06:10 AM

Not surprising. He was the only bidder.

zippyjuan · 08-01-2007, 10:42 AM

The question was not who was bidding but whether enough of the share holders in Dow Jones would be willing to sell their shares and give up control at the price he offered. There was no real auction for the company. Many members of the Bancroft family were not really interested in the business and were happy to take the money. Now the question is what will Murdock do with it? Allow it freedom to print what it feels is apropriate or adopt his usual political slant? Expand it?

clutchy · 08-04-2007, 07:04 PM

man this sucks...

if he doesn't leave it alone i don't know where i'm going to get my news

08-01-2007, 06:10 AM	#3
brainsmile Chief of Naval Operations Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: woah... why is welfareloser here with me so early in the morning and more importantly why am I wearing her clothes?!? Posts: 13,754	Not surprising. He was the only bidder. __________________ ********************************** DCM #1 (Founder) "Nobody beats Vitus Gerulaitis 18 times in a row." - Vitus Gerulaitis on beating Jimmy Connors after 17 failed attempts.

08-04-2007, 07:04 PM	#5
clutchy Rear Admiral Lower Half Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Yucaipa, CA Posts: 2,863	man this sucks... if he doesn't leave it alone i don't know where i'm going to get my news __________________ LK was treated unfairly thanks X

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

08-01-2007, 05:58 AM	#2
Jeffbx Fleet Admiral Join Date: Mar 2000 Location: Michigan Posts: 9,390	"The Fox News Journal"?

08-01-2007, 10:42 AM	#4
zippyjuan Picture of the Day Guru Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Sunny San Diego Posts: 8,756	The question was not who was bidding but whether enough of the share holders in Dow Jones would be willing to sell their shares and give up control at the price he offered. There was no real auction for the company. Many members of the Bancroft family were not really interested in the business and were happy to take the money. Now the question is what will Murdock do with it? Allow it freedom to print what it feels is apropriate or adopt his usual political slant? Expand it?

User Name
Password
Remember Me?