Trading in shares of Dow Jones was halted on the New York Stock Exchange, following the News Corp approach at $60 a share in cash, or a combination of cash and News Corp securities. The bid sent Dow Jones shares soaring 54.7% to $57.28. Shares in News Corp headed in the other direction, falling 3.9%.
The unsolicited offer was received and considered by the Bancroft family, which owns 62% of the company's voting stock. Last night Dow Jones said that the board of directors, and members and trustees of the Bancroft family -- who hold shares representing a majority of the company's voting power -- were evaluating the proposal, but said there could be no assurance that this evaluation will lead to any transaction.
The evaluation did not last long and the bid was swiftly rejected by the Bancroft family.
In a statement Michael Elefante, a Dow Jones director and lawyer representing the Bancroft family, said: "Members of the family and the trustees of trust for their benefit have advised him that they will vote shares constituting slightly more than 50% of the outstanding voting power of Dow Jones against the proposal."
Murdoch, whose only other newspaper in the US is The New York Post, has considered a bid for The Wall Street Journal before. He has also said he would like to own the Financial Times and he has finally made his move as print titles struggle for ad revenues. His Dow Jones bid comes as he plans to launch the Fox Business News Channel later this year, which will compete with rival CNBC.
CNBC has a deal with The Wall Street Journal, which would end if Murdoch got control of the paper.
The offer was made two weeks ago in a letter to the Dow Jones board. Murdoch has previously expressed an interest in owning the business publisher. Reports have suggested that News Corp's bid to buy the Wall Street Journal publisher would be unlikely to be checked by US regulatory authorities.
Last month, Dow Jones said it was aiming to gain less than half its revenue from traditional print operations by 2009.
During the company's Annual General Meeting on April 18, it indicated revenue is growing far more quickly from digital than print publications.
The Wall Street Journal US print edition, saw its advertising revenue drop 1.8% in the first quarter of this year, while advertising revenue for the Dow Jones Online division rose 30%.
According to reports, the publisher is in advanced talks about acquiring US-based media company eFinancialNews Holdings for £26.1m.
The business, which publishes Financial News, , and weekly title Private Equity News, is about to be bought by Dow Jones, subject to a working capital adjustment.
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