General Electric Co., the parent of business news cable channel CNBC, said Thursday that it would not pursue a bid for Dow Jones & Co., the parent of The Wall Street Journal, with Pearson Plc, the parent of The Financial Times, according to a story on the Journal’s web site.
In a statement, GE and Pearson did say that they would explore collaborative efforts between CNBC and The Financial Times. CNBC currently has a contract with Dow Jones for content through 2012, but if News Corp. ends up acquiring The Journal, it may want that content for its as-yet-unlaunched business news cable channel.
Kathryn Kranhold, Dennis Berman and Sarah Ellison wrote, “People familiar with the talks say Dow Jones board’s move to take control of the talks with News Corp.’s Rupert Murdoch may have taken some momentum out of GE and Pearson’s plan, giving off the impression that Dow Jones was simply seeking the highest price.
“It was unclear what price GE and Pearson were looking to propose; people familiar with the situation say they were looking to have a deal valuing Dow Jones at or above Mr. Murdoch’s $60-a-share offer.
“Since News Corp.’s pursuit of Dow Jones became public on May 1, industry watchers have expected GE to bid on Dow Jones.”
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