Murdoch said yesterday that he had no plans to raise his bid for The Wall Street Journal's parent company. Financial analysts had expected Murdoch, the owner of media group News Corporation, to improve his bid to seal the deal.
Murdoch also hinted that the Bancroft family, who hold a 64% stake in Dow Jones, may walk away from the deal. Speaking to journalists in Warsaw yesterday, the media tycoon said he expected the Bancrofts to give their approval to the agreement within the next three weeks "if at all".
Murdoch's comments provide another twist in his drawn-out battle to land The Wall Street Journal. Last week the Bancrofts brought talks with News Corp to a halt by demanding a string of measures to safeguard the paper's editorial independence, as well as two seats on the News Corp board.
After News Corp allegedly rejected these demands, both sides struck a new deal over the weekend. The revised agreement makes provisions for the creation of a special board to oversee budgets and high-level editorial decisions at The Wall Street Journal. It also sets out a special code of journalistic integrity for the paper.
The Dow Jones board has also taken over negotiations from the Bancrofts to speed up the sale. If Murdoch takes his offer off the table the company's share price is likely to drop sharply and minority shareholders may bring a lawsuit against the board.
It is understood that the Bancrofts, who have held a majority stake in The Wall Street Journal since 1902, are reluctant to relinquish control of the paper.
They are also said to be considering an offer from US entrepreneur Brad Greenspan, founder of MySpace parent company Intermix. Greenspan confirmed he was meeting Merrill Lynch, advisors to the Bancroft family, and Goldman Sachs, advisors to Dow Jones, this week to discuss his intention to buy a 25% stake in the publisher.
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