Might this be the beginning of more media ownership consolidation?

It appears that Mr. Murdoch and company (aka News Corporation) wants to acquire that vast resources (including The Wall Street Journal) of Dow Jones. Today, News Corp. offered $60 per share in an unsolicited bid.

The official Dow Jones News Release reads:

Dow Jones & Company (NYSE: DJ) today confirmed that its Board of Directors has received an unsolicited proposal from News Corporation to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Dow Jones common stock and Class B common stock for $60.00 per share in cash, or in a combination of cash and News Corporation securities.

The Board of Directors and members and trustees of the Bancroft family, who hold shares representing a majority of the Company’s voting power, are evaluating the proposal. There can be no assurance that this evaluation will lead to any transaction.

Along with The Wall Street Journal (various editions) and Barrons, Dow Jones holdings include:
+ Factiva (became 100% owned by DJ last year after acquiring 50% of the company from Reuters)
+ Marketwatch.com
+ Dow Jones Indexes
+ Dow Jones Newswires
+ Dow Jones Financial Information Services
+ Far Eastern Economic Review
+ Ottaway Community Newspapers
+ Wall St. Journal Radio Network
+ Dow Jones Integrated Solutions
++ Alliances with:
+ Hearst, Smart Money magazine
+ Vedomosti
+ CNBC (NBC and DJ)
+ Stoxx Limited

About two months ago, Dow Jones and IAC/InterActive announced plans to build a web-based investment information site.

Note: Gary is Director of Online Info Resources at Ask.com which is owned by IAC/InterActive.

See Also: Latest Dow Jones News and Share Info via Marketwatch

UPDATE: Dow Jones has said that have rejected the offer.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 1st, 2007 and is filed under Information Industry, Search News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.