Despite a blockbuster bid of $60 per share from News Corp. (NYSE: NWS), the stock price of Dow Jones and Co. (NYSE: DJ) ended the day at $56.20, a discount of more than 6% to the offer price. There is definitely a good amount of uncertainty on the offer (but it should be fertile ground for traders).Now, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal [a paid service], it looks like a slight majority of the Bancroft family doesn't want to do the deal. And, in light of their super-voting power, that means they can kill it.
Why not support the deal? Well, I'm sure there's a lot of emotion involved. What's more, there's probably some skepticism of News Corp's leader, Rupert Murdoch. Might he turn Dow Jones into his personal soap box or make it schlocky?
Yet, this may be a way for the Bancrofts to get other suitors to the table.
The problem is that not many would likely pay Rupert's price.
Some of the possible buyers include Bloomberg, the Washington Post Co. (NYSE: WPO)., and the New York Times Co. (NYSE: NYT). Hey, there may be some wild cards like Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG). After all, doesn't it like to pay premium prices?
Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and the EDGAR-Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.
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