Dow Jones Hears Alternative Proposals

DOW JONES HEARS ALTERNATIVE PROPOSALS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Sarah Ellison sarah.ellison@wsj.com]
As Dow Jones & Co. closes in on a deal to sell itself to News Corp., an unlikely pair of investors is making a last-ditch effort to create a competing offer. Internet entrepreneur Brad Greenspan and supermarket mogul Ron Burkle met with a committee of Dow Jones's board yesterday evening to present their proposals for the company, according to people familiar with the matter. The two men, who had been exploring independent plans for Dow Jones, agreed to team up for the meeting with the board committee, these people said. Details of the proposals aren't clear, although Mr. Burkle, who is acting in an advisory role, had been exploring a structure for Dow Jones, the publisher of The Wall Street Journal, that would incorporate an employee stock-ownership plan. Mr. Greenspan is leading an investor group and has said his proposal is evolving. He has been talking to such potential investors as satellite-television company EchoStar Communications Corp. and Intel Corp.'s investment arm. He is proposing a deal to purchase a portion of Dow Jones's stock at $60 a share, partially through a stock buyback, and then invest an additional $250 million in the company to expand its Web video capabilities.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118410792590962577.html?mod=todays_us_marketplace
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* Burkle explores Dow Jones offer
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-dowjones11jul11,1,179703.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-business