Major Bancroft Branch to Nix Murdoch Offer

Family trust may force mogul to raise price for Journal
By Wesley Oliver,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 27, 2007 12:09 PM CDT
Major Bancroft Branch to Nix Murdoch Offer
Co., which is considering a bid to be bought by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., reported lower second-quarter profits Thursday, July 19, 2007 due to an accounting charge, but revenues and operating income rose. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, file)   (Associated Press)

An important faction within the Bancroft family will vote against Rupert Murdoch’s controversial $5 billion deal for Dow Jones, instead demanding a significant increase of his offer. The Denver branch of the family, which owns a crucial 9.1% of Dow Jones voting stock, wants an extra $120 to $240 million to match their higher-valued voting shares, Dow's own WSJ reveals.

An insider from Murdoch’s News Corp. says the company is unwilling to bargain up. The Dow Jones board had rebuffed plans to value shareholder stock differently. The Bancrofts, Dow Jones’ majority voting shareholders, have been locked in tense negotiations this week over whether to accept the takeover—the outcome is still too close too call. (More Rupert Murdoch stories.)

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