WSJ.com is reporting that the Denver branch of the Bancroft family is going to vote against accepting News Corp.'s $60 a share offer for Dow Jones & Co., putting pressure on News Corp. to raise its offer.
The Denver trust holds 9.1% of Dow Jones' voting stock. The trust is seen as a seller but had been pushing for a higher price. According to the story:
The Denver trust has been one of the most closely watched among Dow Jones management and News Corp. executives, according to people familiar with the matter. The Bancroft family is divided about whether to accept the offer, with some prominent members arguing strongly against the deal while others are in favor. The outcome has been seen as too close to call, although the Denver trust's decision increases doubts about the deal's prospects. Shares of Dow Jones were down 16 cents to $53.55 in [Friday] afternoon trading.
The Denver trust has argued that the super-voting B class shareholders should receive a premium of 10-20% over the $60 offer. In their view, News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch should be willing to pay an extra $120 million to $240 million — the cost of paying more to B shareholders — to clinch the $5 billion deal. The Bancroft family owns about 83% of the roughly 20 million B shares.
Dow Jones' board, though, has indicated it wouldn't recommend to shareholders a deal that treated B class shareholders differently to the other shareholders. —Tom Groppe
See story on WSJ.com (subscription required).
Tags:
Dow Jones,
Bancrofts,
News Corp. and Rupert Murdoch
Continue reading below
It's interesting to see that the high-minded Bancroftian concern for the editorial independence of WSJ can be ameliorated by a better offering price from Rupert. Prostitution reigns supreme.