Wordblog

 Rupert Murdoch’s chances of gaining control of Dow Jones, publishers of the Wall Street Journal, are looking much better after the Bancroft family which controls 64% of the voting shares said they would talk to News Corporation.

In a statement, the family said it would meet Murdoch  "to determine whether, in the context of the current or any modified News Corp. proposal, it will be possible to ensure the level of commitment to editorial independence, integrity and journalistic freedom that is the hallmark of Dow Jones".

The Wall Street Journal itself reported: "Dow Jones & Co.’s 125-year history as an independent media company could be nearing an end."

Lost Remote says it is "a surprising new development". The only reason it is "surprising" is that so much of the comment and reporting has been based on wishful thinking and dislike of Murdoch and his way of running newspapers. That seems to have blinded people to the realities of Murdoch’s well-pitched $5 billion offer.  

The signs that it could succeed have been there from the beginning. My reaction in Wordblog on May 2 was:

With the controlling Bancroft family divided he stands a good chance of succeeding. The family said yesterday that it intended to cast “slighly more than 50%” of the voting stock against the $60 a share offer for Dow Jones, publisher of the financial paper. According to the WSJ that suggests about 80% of the family voting power is against a deal.

The family control depends on super-voting “B” shares with carry 10 times the voting power of “A” shares in Dow Jones. Yesterday two-thirds of the “A” shares changed hands as the price shot up by more than a half to $56.20, many of them going into the hands of investors who are likely to press for the sale.

With the family now also indicating it would consider other offers, we are likely to see some hard bargaining to increase the Murdoch offer.