Murdoch firm waiting for Dow Jones decision

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp media conglomerate is waiting to hear today if controlling shareholders support his offer to buy the publisher of the Wall Street Journal.

The group said yesterday that it was “highly unlikely” the offer would proceed if support for the deal remains at its currently reported levels.

News Corp has offered $60 (€43) a share, or $5bn (€3.6bn), to buy Dow Jones & Co, and the controlling shareholders, the Bancroft family, are voting to determine support for the deal.

The family, which has controlled Dow Jones for a century, had a 5pm ET (10pm Irish time) deadline yesterday to tell the family’s lead trustee how they would vote.

As the deadline passed, a Bancroft family spokesman declined to comment on the vote’s outcome.

The next expected step is for News Corp to be informed of how many Bancroft family members were in favour of the offer and decide whether it has enough support to proceed.

The Bancrofts collectively control 64% of the shareholder vote of Dow Jones through a special class of stock, but only about half of them need to support the deal for it to succeed.

The Wall Street Journal reported that, as of late on Sunday, some 28% of the Bancrofts supported the deal, but a News Corp spokesman told the paper that the company was “highly unlikely” to proceed with the deal at that level of support.

The spokesman asked not to be named due to the sensitive nature of the discussions. A Bancroft family spokesman declined to comment.

The family has been deeply divided over whether to sell to Mr Murdoch, largely over concerns that his hands-on management style could affect the papers’ coverage.

The 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, Mr Murdoch’s bid is also being opposed by former board member Jim Ottaway Jr, whose family controls 7% of the shareholder vote.