Go to the mobile version of this Web site.

Login | Contact Us | Site Map | Paid archives | Electronic edition | Subscription Questions | Extras

Denver-based trust to vote down offer for Dow Jones

Rocky Mountain News

Published July 28, 2007 at midnight

Text size  

More More Business

More stories »

A Denver-based trust involving the Bancroft family, Dow Jones & Co.'s controlling shareholder, is set to vote against News Corp.'s $60-a-share offer, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

The newspaper, published by Dow Jones, cited a person familiar with the situation.

The Journal said the no vote puts pressure on Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. to raise its offer - a move the company has no intention of pursuing.

The Denver trust holds a 9.1 percent stake in Dow Jones' voting stock. The trust's position adds to the uncertainty over whether the Bancrofts will agree to a sale.

The Journal said the Denver trust is considered a key faction within the family and that it has sought a higher selling price for Dow Jones' stock. News Corp.'s price tag totals $5 billion.

Two attorneys at the Denver law firm Holme Roberts & Owen - Lynn Hendrix and Charles Ramunno - manage the Denver trust.

Asked about the Journal's report, Hendrix said he couldn't confirm or deny the matter.

But, he added, referring to the paper's past coverage of the Dow Jones saga: "The Journal has been fairly accurate."

The Bancroft family is divided over whether to sell out to News Corp.

According to the Journal, the Denver trust has argued that the super-voting B class shareholders should get a premium of 10 percent to 20 percent above the $60 offer. The Bancroft family owns more than 80 percent of the roughly 20 million outstanding B shares.

"I don't expect News Corp. to raise the bid," Michael Morris, a UBS AG analyst in New York, told Bloomberg. "Rupert Murdoch made it clear the offer was full and fair."