Rupert Murdoch moved closer to owning the Wall Street Journal today as the News Corp media conglomerate signed off on the £2.5bn (€3.6bn) deal, according to US reports.

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.

Billionaire investor Ron Burkle is working with a union representing workers at Dow Jones & Co to explore alternatives to Rupert Murdoch's $5bn (€3.69bn) bid for the company, which publishes The Wall Street Journal.

The family that controls Dow Jones & Co, publisher of The Wall Street Journal, said today it would consider a bid from media mogul Rupert Murdoch to buy the company, as well as other potential offers.