What if Murdoch Doesn't Get Dow Jones?
WHAT IF MURDOCH DOESN'T GET DOW JONES?
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Seth Sutel]
Just a few weeks ago, it seemed inevitable to many on Wall Street and in the media industry that Rupert Murdoch would prevail in his campaign to add Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal, to the media empire he has spent a lifetime building. But with the sudden departure of a director in protest of the deal with News Corp. and more signs of dissent in the family that controls Dow Jones, that outcome seems less assured now as the monthslong process comes to a head. The first consequence of a failed deal would surely be a sharp decline in the shares of Dow Jones, most likely to around the mid-$30s level they had been trading at prior to Murdoch's $60-per-share offer becoming public in early May. Investors are increasingly accounting for the risk of the deal failing, sending Dow Jones shares steadily below Murdoch's offering price since late June. A collapse in Dow Jones' stock in turn would leave a lot of shareholders unhappy, which could lead to the possibility of shareholder lawsuits. However, given that investors already knew full well that the company has controlling shareholders, it's not clear that there's much they can do to legally challenge a decision not to sell the company.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-ap-dow-jones-murdoch,0,540990...
* A Family Meets Today to Hear the Complexities of a Bid for Dow Jones
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/23/business/media/23bancroft.html
* Barron’s, With Less Insulation, May Nicely Survive Murdoch
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/23/business/media/23barrons.html
* Life Under Murdoch
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/22/AR200707...
INTERNET ENTREPRENEUR DETAILS DOW JONES PROPOSAL
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Kenneth Li and Robert MacMillan]
Internet entrepreneur Brad Greenspan outlined a new proposal on Friday to keep Dow Jones & Co Inc out of Rupert Murdoch's hands, saying his plan could help boost the stock price to above $100. Urging shareholders to reject Murdoch's $5 billion takeover bid, Greenspan offered to lend members of the Bancroft family, which controls Dow Jones, $400 million to $600 million to buy out other Bancrofts who want to cash out at $60 per share -- the price Murdoch's News Corp has offered. In exchange, Greenspan said he would get two board seats and the rights to all value created in the stock above $60 per share. Family members are expected to signal whether they support the deal on Monday, but the outcome is uncertain as an undetermined number of Bancrofts worry Murdoch would meddle with Dow Jones's news operations in an attempt to further his business interests.
http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSWEN951520070721