Has Murdoch Completed Negotiations for Dow Jones?
The British news magazine The Business is reporting that sources acting for Dow Jones board members say media mogul Rupert Murdoch has completed negotiations for a $5 billion takeover of the company that owns The Wall Street Journal. In a story co-written by former News Corp. editor Andrew Neil, the magazine reports that Murdoch is just waiting for the approval of the majority share-holding Bancroft family, with the sources saying the board is confident he will get it.
According to sources acting for Dow Jones in the negotiations, the deal was delayed until agreement was reached on a legally-binding undertaking by Murdoch to preserve the Wall Street Journal's editorial independence. Under the terms of this agreement, News Corporation will have the ability to hire and fire the top editors and publishers (a matter on which Murdoch would not budge); but a nominally independent five-person committee will have the right of veto on these decisions.
MarketWatch reports that a spokesman for Dow Jones (its parent company) says the report is incorrect, and there has been no change in the status of talks.
The Guardian reports that the Bancroft family also denied a deal had been reached. But a News Corp. source tells the newspaper that a deal with the family is "much more likely" because of the editorial agreement with the Journal.
1:49 PM ET | 07- 6-2007 | permalink
