News Corp. reaches tentative deal for Dow Jones

News Corp. has reached a tentative deal to acquire Dow Jones & Co., the parent of The Wall Street Journal, for $5 billion, according to a short on the Journal’s web site Monday evening.

Sarah Ellison wrote, “The deal will be put to the full Dow Jones board tomorrow evening for its approval, said people familiar with the situation.

“In what could be the final round of talks, this afternoon negotiators from News Corp. and Dow Jones — including Chief Executive Richard Zannino, company advisers and two independent directors — reached an agreement in principle on a deal first proposed by News Corp. in mid-April. News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch resisted pressure from Dow Jones to raise his initial $60 a share offer, which represented a 67% premium to where the Dow Jones stock was trading before news of the offer became public.”

Ellison later wrote, “The deal still faces its biggest hurdle — getting approval from the Bancroft family, which controls 64% of Dow Jones’s voting stock. Mr. Zannino has indicated to News Corp. that the family’s position on the deal is too close to call, according to a person who spoke to him.”

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