Betting that Murdoch gets the votes

Lisa Snedeker of Media Life Magazine writes Wednesday that she’s betting on News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch already having the votes from the Bancroft family to acquire Dow Jones & Co., the parent of The Wall Street Journal.

Snedeker wrote, “And while some Bancrofts have been out looking for other investors, and while discord appears to rage within the family, it now looks as if Murdoch will have his way, getting the votes he needs. The big surprise would be if he loses out when the votes are counted, sometime next week.

“That’s for a simple reason. The board would not have gone to a formal vote without first lining up enough support among the Bancrofts to ensure a favorable tally when they votes were counted.

“If the vote should fail, it would be because the board counted wrong, or at the last minute some votes they were sure of jumped sides and voted with the anti-Murdoch faction.

“The family is set to meet on Monday, and Murdoch will need less than half of the family’s voting power, or about 30 percent of the total votes, having already secured commitments from a high number of nonfamily stockholders.”

Read more here.