The companies said in the wee hours of Wednesday morning that they signed a definitive merger agreement after the deal won sufficient support to pass from a deeply divided Bancroft family, which has controlled the storied newspaper publisher for generations.
Murdoch is getting one of the great trophies of US journalism and a newspaper that is considered required reading among the business and power elite.
The deal will also expand Murdoch’s already massive global media and entertainment empire News Corp, which owns the Fox broadcast network, Fox News Channel, the Twentieth Century Fox movie and TV studio, MySpace, newspapers in Australia and the UK, and several satellite TV broadcasters.
Dow Jones and News Corp said in a statement that Bancroft family members and trustees representing 37 per cent of the company’s shareholder vote have agreed to support the deal. Combined with the 29 per cent of the vote held by public shareholders, who are very likely to support Murdoch, the deal is now assured of passing.
The agreement
The companies said a member of the Bancroft family or another mutually acceptable person would be appointed to News Corp’s board of directors as part of the agreement.
The Bancroft family, descended over several generations from an early owner of Dow Jones, Clarence Barron, clashed hard over whether to sell to Murdoch, with several members saying they feared the quality and independence of the paper would suffer under his watch.
Some family members actively sought alternatives to Murdoch — without success. One of them, Leslie Hill, quit Dow Jones’ board on Tuesday as the deal edged toward completion, the Journal reported. Two weeks ago, another director quit in protest, German publishing executive Dieter von Holtzbrinck.
In a statement released on Wednesday, a family spokesman said: “It is our most fervent hope that in the years to come, The Wall Street Journal will continue to enjoy, and deserve, the universal admiration and respect in which it is held all over the world.”
The Bancroft family initially rebuffed Murdoch, but then agreed to reconsider. Last week they heard exhaustive presentations on Murdoch’s plans but remained divided.
