By DPA
New York : Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp has reached a tentative deal to buy Dow Jones, the owner of the Wall Street Journal for $5 billion.
The deal was reached between Murdoch and Dow Jones CEO Richard Zannino but still must be approved by the Bancroft family, which controls 64 percent of Dow Jones voting stock, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Several members of the family are known to oppose the deal for fear that Murdoch will dilute the paper’s reputation. But other members of the family are known to support the 60-dollar-a-share deal that represents a 67 percent premium over the share price when the offer was made.
According to the report, the deal will be put to the full Dow Jones board Tuesday evening for its approval, and will be presented to the Bancrofts Thursday. Their decision is expected some time next week.
In addition to the Wall Street Journal and its international and online editions, Dow Jones publishes Barron’s and SmartMoney magazines and other periodicals, DowJones Newswires, Dow Jones Indexes and the Ottaway group of community newspapers.