NEW YORK - Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. appears to have won sufficient backing from members of the Bancroft family to secure its takeover bid for Dow Jones & Co., The Wall Street Journal reported online Tuesday.
The report said Bancroft family members who control 32 percent of Dow Jones voting power have agreed to support News Corp.'s five-billion-dollar takeover offer for Dow Jones.
The Journal, which is owned by Dow Jones, said such a level of support is likely to guarantee News Corp. enough votes to secure a takeover deal.
The report, which cited people familiar with the matter, said News Corp. had been hoping to reap a higher percentage of votes from the Bancrofts, however, in order to gain a broader mandate for its proposed takeover.
The Bancroft family, who have controlled Dow Jones for more than 100 years, control a total 64 percent of Dow Jones voting power. Some family members have voiced strong opposition to doing a deal with Murdoch, saying the media baron would erode the Journal's editorial independence.
Dow Jones's shares soared in early afternoon deals, spiking over 12 percent to 57.89 dollars, but below Murdoch's 60-dollar-per-share offer for the company.
News Corp. has scheduled a board meeting for later in the afternoon to debate its next step while the board of Dow Jones, which has already given its support to a tie-up with News Corp., is due to meet Tuesday evening, according to the Journal.
The US media landscape would be shaken up dramatically if News Corp. succeeds in taking over Dow Jones, which owns other media assets in addition to the Journal, the leading US business newspaper.
07/31/2007 16:39 GMT