News Corporation could make an announcement today that it has reached an agreement to protect the editorial independence of the Wall Street Journal.
According to a report in the
Washington Post, News Corp and Dow Jones were last night close to agreeing a deal following a series of meetings.
This could then leave the way clear for News Corp’s $5 billion (£2.5 million) takeover of the Wall Street Journal‘s parent company, Dow Jones.
However, an agreement would need the assent of the Bancroft family, which controls 64% of shareholder votes. Most of the family had been against the sale but, according to reports, have now reassessed the proposed deal.
The biggest difficulty during negotiations has been regarding the editorial board, with the Bancroft family wanting a committee to oversee budgets and the appointment of a publisher, whilst News Corp is against this.
Last week, the Dow Jones board took control of the negotiations from representatives of the Bancrofts, which has increased News Corp’s chances of finalising the deal.
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