News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch may yet have a competing bid for Dow Jones & Co., the parent of The Wall Street Journal, according to a story for Monday’s Journal.
Sarah Ellison, Dennis Berman and Kathryn Kranhold wrote, “General Electric Co. and Financial Times publisher Pearson PLC are in talks about making a joint bid for Dow Jones that would allow the family to keep a minority interest.
“Under one scenario that has been discussed, GE’s CNBC business channel, the Financial Times and Dow Jones would be combined into a privately held joint venture, according to people familiar with the matter. The venture would be owned in equal parts by GE and Pearson, with the Bancroft family holding a minority stake.”
The Journal also reported that one family member said the Bancrofts have agreed they would give serious consideration to an offer that was lower than the $60 per share on offer from News Corp if they felt the buyer could better protect the Wall Street Journal’s integrity.
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