Dow Jones board clears $5 billion News Corp bid, seeks Bancrofts'' nod

18 July 2007

Mumbai: The board of Dow Jones & Co. Inc. has endorsed a $5-billion buyout offer from Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., sending the deal to the controlling Bancroft family for final approval. (See: Dow Jones indicates tentative acceptance of News Corp offer)

The 16 directors of New York-based Dow Jones committed to accepting the $60 a share bid if a sufficient shares belonging to members of of the Bancroft family, who together control 64 per cent of the voting shares, accept the cash offer.

The members of the board, who met for several hours in the evening, were not unanimous in their decision but a "strong majority" voted to recommend approving the deal, said one source familiar with the matter.

The board "has determined that it would be prepared to approve, and recommend to the Dow Jones stockholders, including the Bancroft Family stockholders, a merger agreement," Dow Jones said in a statement.

The deal could be completed within a week if the company's defiant controlling shareholders heed their directors' advice.