Months-long ruckus for Wall Street Journal seems to end by this week.
Bancroft Family met in Boston on Monday and worked on possible measure for the WSJ’s future with its advisers, but has not decided whether they will sell it or not.
Murdoch bid needs Bancroft family’s approval to acquire the newspaper, as it controls 64 percent of Dow Jones’s voting shares.
It’s expected that family will come out with the decision on Friday, whereas, Bancroft said: “We’re still undecided.”
Dow Jones Chairman Peter McPherson declined to comment.
Murdoch offered $60 per share to WSJ, however, board and family are reluctant to sell it as they alleged that acquisition can mar the integrity and independence of the prestigious newspaper. Majority shareholders seek alternative bidder, as they fear that Murdoch may interfere with Dow Jones’s news operations to increase its business prospectives.
After Murdoch, many bidders appear but all lost in the mist of Murdoch’s huge bucks. All found that Murdoch’s offer is too huge to surpass. In the bidding process, internet entrepreneur Brad Greenspan, proposal considered near to the Murdoch. Recently, bidding process gets new twist, when Greenspan offere to lend the Bancrofts $400 to $600 million to buy other members of the family who want to cash out at $60 a share.
In exchange, Greenspan would get two board seats and the rights to all value created in the stock above $60 per share. Under his scenario, Dow Jones would take on $2.5 billion in debt to buy back 50 percent of its outstanding shares at $60 per share and take on another $500 million in debt to fund a digital expansion.
Although, $60 per share is too expensive, yet both bidders are adamant to merge it. If Murdoch succeeds to acquire journal, they will cope up the losses from his News Corp, however, Greenspan has to search a new sources, in case it acquires Dow Jones. In a letter to Dow Jones shareholders, Greenspan talked about creating a cable and satellite financial news channel to rival CNBC and News Corp’s planned Fox business channel and a new online video venture.
Dow Jones shares closed down 31 cents at $54.69 on the New York Stock Exchange.
