Murdoch kept his Dow Jones deal secret

A story in the latest issue of BusinessWeek states that News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch kept his plan to make a a $5 billion offer for Dow Jones & Co. — the parent company of The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s abd Marketwatch – secret to most people inside his company.

Tom Lowry, Ronald Grover and Jon Fine wrote, “For a while, Murdoch largely kept his Journal appetites to himself. He didn’t consult his inner circle, which includes President and COO Peter Chernin, CFO David DeVoe, and Roger Ailes, who heads Fox’s news operation and is a conservative Murdoch soulmate. Nothing surprising there. When it comes to big moves, Murdoch keeps his own counsel. The decision to go after Dow Jones, says one intimate, ‘was pure Rupert. He came in one day [in April] and said, ‘It’s time.’ ‘ He then consulted with Robert Thomson, editor of the Times of London and a fellow Aussie, who some suggest may end up running the Journal.

“Murdoch, who had watched the long, tortuous sale of the Tribune Co. (TRB), told DeVoe he wanted a knockout bid. ‘Family owners are never easy to deal with,’ says a Murdoch associate—no small irony there. ‘And Rupert wanted to scare off potential private equity bidders.’

“While a bidding war could still erupt, few on Wall Street or in media circles believed such a thing will come to pass. ‘I thought Dow Jones was fully priced at $36,’ says Norman Pearlstine, a former managing editor of The Wall Street Journal and now a senior advisor to the private equity firm Carlyle Group. ‘It would be awfully expensive for anyone to take a look at it. We’re all just saying, ‘Wow!’ ‘”

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