
The offer by Rupert Murdoch and News Corp. (NWS-A) may have set off a series of events that could pit family members against one another and result in numerous lawsuits if depending upon decisions that are made.
There are already different camps within the family, as shown by comments being made through the media. What makes it especially hard for all involved is the offer is considered more than a fair price coming in at a 67 percent premium to the share price at the time of the offer.
Part of the problem comes from a lack of cohesiveness within the family itself, which doesn't seem to have any type of process and system in place to handle these types of things.
I think the reason that is so is the two-tier share structure which gives the family
64 percent of the votes while only owning about 25 percent of the shares.
What this does is give no incentive to even try to have things in place with the company that could deal with various situations that could come along. If there is no way to supercede the voting shares, there are no checks and balances in place to provide the best value for other shareholders.
For example, one self-important family member, Christopher Bancroft, who is on the Dow Jone's board and is considered one of the more important family members as far as it relates to the company, has made the comment that he did not want to take the risk of The Wall Street Journal losing its editorial independence.
Only someone with too much power could make an irrelevant statement like that. Dow Jones is a business not a charity or activist tool; at least it shouldn't be. Christopher Bancroft sounds like a Hollywood director that is "outraged" because he isn't given carte blanche to exercise his creative talents, even if the movie would lose millions, which the majority do.
Using a type of rhetoric that makes it look like he's on some type of higher road than someone else, is just a smokescreen for not wanting to give up power, even if it hurts the rest of the shareholders.
It's not only other family members, but other shareholders that may eventually take legal action as they will lose a lot of money from a very fair and legitimate offer.
One thing for sure, this isn't going to be resolved in the near future, and it could get a lot uglier before things start to come to a resolution. The real fireworks could start if Murdoch and News Corp. decide to walk away from the deal.
For some companies like Google (GOOG) and Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A) which also use this type of two-tier system, they're probably getting a little nervous about it being brought into the public discourse with the negative side of it being shown for what it is.
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» Murdoch Family, Meet the Bancrofts! from ManagersRealm
In the end, the deal concerning Dow Jones & Company (DJ), with its Wall Street Journal, could come down to a family affair. The announcement that Bancroft family will meet with Rupert Murdoch sets the stage for a lot of... [Read More]
Tracked on: June 2, 2007 3:33 PM | Permalink to Trackback