The Wall Street Journal has a story in Saturday’s paper that looks into the Bancroft family that controls Dow Jones & Co., which has received a $5 billion, or $60 a share, bid from News Corp., and quotes one family member as saying he wouldn’t take $100 a share from News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch.
Susan Pulliam, Dennis Berman, Matthew Karnitschnig and Sarah Ellison wrote, “Behind the scenes, however, family members have been on nonstop conference calls, trying to establish a consensus on whether to engage Mr. Murdoch or potentially seek other buyers of the company. Despite the tentative no to Mr. Murdoch’s $60-a-share overture, the situation remains in flux.
“Some of Mrs. Cox’s grandchildren, frustrated by the family’s hands-off approach as Dow Jones owners, have been agitating privately for better performance on their Dow Jones holdings for years. Children of Mrs. Cox’s daughter, Jane Cox MacElree, are among those pushing the family to change how it responds to such offers, and they are at least willing to hear what Mr. Murdoch has to say. One of these children, Leslie Hill, who serves on the Dow Jones board, has been opposed to a Murdoch bid but remains open to other options, says a person familiar with her thinking.
“Meantime, another of the family’s four representatives on the Dow Jones board, Christopher Bancroft, remains opposed to the Murdoch bid, a person familiar with the matter says. The 55-year-old Mr. Bancroft, who runs a small investment firm in Texas, serves as a trustee for 19% of the family’s Class B shares.”
Read more here.
