道琼斯要落入老默的魔掌了

viola_jean · 发表于 2007-8-1 05:28:28

为华尔街日报一哭。 Murdoch poised to seize Dow

Photo: AP Ian Munro in New York August 1, 2007 - 5:55AM Ruport Murdoch's News Corporation appears poised to seize control of Dow Jones, publisher of The Wall Street Journal. Sources close to the media giant indicated overnight (AEST) that acceptances for News' $5 billion offer for the company from among the Bancroft family were sufficient to enable the bid to proceed. The optimism among News Corporation ranks was evident even though the canvassing of members of the Bancroft family was continuing. The extended Bancroft clan controls 64 per cent of the voting stock in Dow Jones and it is believed that about half of that stock has committed to accepting Mr Murdoch's $60 a share offer. Opponents of the takeover from within the family have cited Mr Murdoch's journalism as unsuited to the independent traditions of the Journal as reason enough to reject the offer. Another 29 per cent of voting stock is held by institutions and other investors, most of whom are expected to take the money and run. Mr Murdoch is understood to have required a clear majority of voting stock to commit to his offer, allowing for some shareholders failing to vote and also to account for possible blocking manouevres. A spokesman for the Bancroft family, however, hosed down expectations of the takeover as a foregone conclusion on Tuesday afternoon New York time . He said family members and trustees were still being asked whether they wanted to commit to the takeover. "Any suggestion that the process has been completed and/or that a particular level of support has been established is at this point premature," the spokesman said. But a source close to News Corp said that a board meeting Tuesday afternoon local time was likely to be a brief formality. The Dow Jones board is due to gather several hours latger and is expected to decide whether the company will bear the advisors' costs for members of the Bancroft family. The costs are estimated at up to $30 million, barely a speed hump in the context of a $5 billion buy-up.