Dow Jones stock price remains high, which means company might sell

TheStreet.com reporter Nat Worden writes that because the stock price of Dow Jones & Co. has remained stable in Wednesday trading even though a majority of the Bancroft family has indicated it’s opposed to selling the owner of The Wall Street Journal to News Corp. indicates that they may have to consider selling to someone.

Worden wrote, “The Times, known for its left-leaning commentary, has been pilloried on Wall Street for this position, since it appears to put editorial interests ahead of shareholders’ interests. But with the Bancrofts taking a similar position, having supported the Journal’s right-leaning editorial board over the years, critics may have to re-evaluate their position.

“The Bancrofts’ stance may be far less tenable than that of the Sulzbergers. After all, nobody has offered a 65% premium to buy the Gray Lady (although Murdoch’s move may be an inspiration to other newspaper suitors).

“‘This is a knockout bid, and I think no other party will be able to match it,’ says Jack Liebau of Liebau Asset Management. ‘Most of the shareholders would probably eagerly accept this bid, but the Bancrofts have the final say here.’

“It’s unclear if the Bancrofts are uninterested in selling, or are just uninterested in selling to Murdoch. That raises the possibility that other interested parties could step into the fray.”

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