Dow Jones Warms to Murdoch Offer

Family ready to consider bid, with Reuters-Thomson merger in wings
By Peter Fearon,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 1, 2007 7:06 AM CDT
Dow Jones Warms to Murdoch Offer
Co., the Bancroft family, promising them a board seat on his media conglomerate, News Corp., as well as measures to ensure the independence of The Wall Street Journal. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, FILE)   (Associated Press)

The family that controls Dow Jones, after initially rebuffing a $5-billion buyout offer from Rupert Murdoch, has decided to consider selling after all. In a stunning about-face, the Bancroft family announced last night it had "reached consensus that the mission of Dow Jones may be better accomplished in combination or collaboration with another organization, which may include News Corporation.”

The family has agreed to meet with Murdoch, and consider other offers. They'll be looking for more cash, the New York Times notes, as well as mechanisms aimed at guaranteeing the integrity of the Wall Street Journal. One likely factor in the change of heart: the proposed mergert of Reuters and Thomson, which will increase competitive pressure on Dow Jones.
(More Dow Jones stories.)

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