
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 drama that may end up drawing two media families together at the negotiation table.
While Rupert Murdoch is known as someone that can be very charming and disarming, the perceived path he's taken to get to where he's at could be a drag on coming to an agreement.
That's where the two differing families could end up meeting together with various strengths added to the mix.
For the Bancroft family, they are somewhat spread all over the place as far as where they stand on the deal, although there are enough standing together to represent a controlling share of the vote on whether to go ahead with the potential agreement.
Murdoch may have to dig deep into his family to bring more to the table; specifically his wife Wendi, who is respected as having a strong grasp of business and is a very good negotiator. For those who may want a more serious way of doing the deal, Murdoch's son James would fit that bill, as his reputation is one of being all business. Murdoch's daughter Elisabeth is very strong on the media side of business, and is very attractive.
Elisabeth Murdoch
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Any one or many of these various traits in the family may be called upon to give the deal a chance to succeed for Murdoch and News Corp. (NWS-A).
The Bancroft family is different in that they don't have the same united front that the Murdoch's have. While several of the members are on The Wall Street Journal board, others don't even read or think about the "Journal." In other words, there is an emotional connection to the company for some, and for others there is no connection whatsoever, which makes the generous offer by Murdoch very attractive to them.
Another factor for the Bancrofts is Jim Ottaway, who is a major shareholder in Dow Jones, who completely opposes the deal and is continually whispering in the ears of the Bancrofts to not trust Murdoch and his promises.
If everything else fails, the final thing that may change the Bancroft family mind could be increasing the bid, which is well within the means of Murdoch to do.
The Bancroft family will be under increasing pressure from other shareholders to accept this deal, as there is only one reason they're shareholders: to make money. They will have to show other shareholders how they could bring the company to the level of the offer that Murdoch has made if they reject it. Something they won't be able to do.
Assuming there are no other suitors for the company, this could become a battle between shareholders if the final answer to Murdoch is no. It seems like it's coming down to a couple of families, with their various skills and interests getting together to work out the fate of the venerable Dow Jones & Company.
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» Murdoch Family, Meet the Bancrofts! from BizzBites.com
The announcement that Bancroft family will meet with Rupert Murdoch sets the stage for a lot of drama that may end up drawing two media families together at the negotiation table. [Read More]
Tracked on: June 2, 2007 3:45 PM | Permalink to Trackback