Bancrofts must weigh anual check vs. lump-sum payment

Paul Tharp of the New York Post breaks down the numbers Sunday of what it would mean for members of the Bancroft family if they decided to sell Dow Jones & Co. to News Corp. for $5 billion.

Tharp wrote, “The 36 family members currently get an average yearly dividend payment of $572,222 apiece from their company. But they could wind up holding a check of roughly $34.3 million each. It would take 60 years to accumulate that kind of money in $572,222 annual payments. The bottom-line dilemma means deciding whether to use their 64.2 percent control of the company to accept a $60-per-share bid – totaling $5 billion – by News Corp., which owns The Post.

“With no family member involved in the day-to-day operations of The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s or any other Dow Jones property, the question takes on deeper meanings. Add to the mix the fact that the Bancroft family has been steadily selling its shares over the years, and their decision is anybody’s guess.

“This much is certain: Dow Jones stock has fallen steeply from its glorious beginnings in 1967 when it went pubic at the equivalent of $385 per share in today’s dollars.”

Read more here.Â