I must say that I am impressed with the Bancrofts not automatically taking a 65% premium for their troubled business (the industry as a whole is in trouble). The reason? They do not want Murdoch to destroy the Wall Street Journal and all that Dow Jones represents. Sure, the WSJ has those awful editorials, but it is still a decent paper. The Ottoways have some voting stock for DJ too and they would hate to see Murdoch get control. The Bancroft's have been negotiating with Murdoch to see to it that he does not have much editorial control over the WSJ if they sell to him. They do actually want their baby to have --some-- integrity afterall. I hope Murdoch fails of course and the deal falls apart.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=conews&tkr=DJ:UShttp://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=conewsstory&refer=conews&tkr=DJ:US&sid=aectKLTBv0fcJune 20 (Bloomberg) -- James Ottaway Jr., whose family controls 6.2 percent of the voting rights at Dow Jones & Co., said General Electric Co. and Pearson Plc would be better owners for the publisher of the Wall Street Journal than News Corp.
Ottaway has urged Dow Jones's controlling Bancroft family not to accept News Corp.'s $5 billion offer. A former Dow Jones executive, Ottaway, 69, has said that News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch wouldn't protect the Journal's editorial independence.
``If the Bancroft family has decided to sell or bring in partners, GE and Pearson would be much better owners and/or partners than News Corp.,'' Ottaway wrote in an e-mail. He didn't elaborate.
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A GE-Pearson offer may appeal to the Bancrofts, who have balked at selling to Murdoch on concern he would use the news company to advance his business and political interests.
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