Media In The City: Dow Jones Listens To Alternative Bids

Last week we found that Dow Jones was listening to alternative bids to a takeover by Rupert Murdoch from California billionaire Ron Burkle and internet entrepreneur Brad Greenspan.

It is unknown how much of Dow Jones the pair want to buy, although a report on MediaGuardian.co.uk said that Dow Jones’ union hopes they will be able to match Murdoch’s offer of $60 a-share on some shares (Full Story).

It was also reported that Carlyle, the US private equity firm which made a bid for Virgin Media, could axe the Virgin brand name if its bid is successful (Full Story).

Following this, James Murdoch, chief executive of BSkyB, said that a takeover of Virgin Media could eventually lead to an agreement over the channel dispute between the two companies (Full Story).

Also in the news, Emap saw its underlying revenue drop 2% year on year, with revenue for its UK consumer magazines division down 8% this quarter on last (Full Story).

However, later in the week Emap bought Torcello Publishing Limited for £20 million (Full Story).

Derek Carter, chief executive of Emap communications, said: “It is highly complementary to our existing brands in the sector and we look forward to working with the team to leverage opportunities to grow and develop the business.”

In addition, Tiscali announced that it is to buy Pipex Communications’ broadband and voice division for £210 million (Full Story).

Last week, Tiscali bolstered its IPTV service, Tiscali TV, with the addition of a new subscription on-demand film channel (see Tiscali Boosts IPTV Service With New Film Channel).

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