News Corp has apparently reached a tentative agreement for the purchase of Dow Jones for $5 billion (£2.5 billion).
According to a report in the
Wall Street Journal, owned by Dow Jones, the deal will be put to the full Dow Jones board for approval this evening.
The WSJ said that yesterday 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.
However, approval is still needed from the Bancroft family, which controls 64% of Dow Jones’s voting power.
The WSJ adds that Michael Elefante, the Bancroft family’s lead trustee, has arranged a meeting for Thursday where he will present the agreement the Bancroft family before asking for their final vote.
It is expected that Elefante will give the family several days to make a decision, with a final outcome possible by some time next week.
Last week it was reported that Dow Jones had been looking at alternative bidders, with California billionaire Ron Burkle said to be interested (see Dow Jones Looks At Alternative Bids).
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