The British newspaper, The Independent, reports that Reuters is a heart beat from being sold to Thomson (NYSE: TOC). According to its report, the "Reuters Founders Share Company, the trust that acts as guardian to the editorial independence of Reuters Group Plc" is prepared to approve the deal. Reuters has been independent since it was founded in 1850.
Thomson's bid sent the Reuters (NYSE: RTRSY) ADRs from below $60 to over $77. While the premium is nowhere near the one that News Corp (NYSE: NWS) has offered for Dow Jones (NYSE: DJ), Thomson is family controlled, and the Reuters CEO would run the combined company.
A combined Thomson/Reuters would have a share of the financial news delivery business that would only be matched by privately-held Bloomberg.
The merger of the two financial news and information giants could put Dow Jones in a bit of a bind. Its revenue would be dwarfed by larger competitors, and a rejection of the News Corp. offer could end up looking short-sighted.
But Dow Jones's management has made mistakes before.
Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.
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