Murdoch Buys Dow Jones: Report

The Business is reporting that a deal has been reached selling Dow Jones (and therefore the Wall Street Journal) to Rupert Murdoch.

Rupert Murdoch has succeeded with his $5 billion bid for Dow Jones, owners of the Wall Street Journal, according to sources acting for the Dow Jones board. Negotiations have been completed and the board is confident the terms of the deal will be accepted by the Bancroft family, which controls a majority of voting shares in Dow Jones, over the next few days. A formal announcement is expected next week.

Murdoch’s News Corporation will take over America’s most prestigious financial publisher at the price he originally offered on April 17, when he proposed $60 a share when the stock was trading at $36, a 67% premium.

After lengthy talks involving many lawyers, the deal includes a legally-enforceable agreement with Murdoch which will supposedly guarantee the integrity and independence of the Wall Street Journal’s journalism.

No hint of this on the other wires yet, so this is subject to correction.

UPDATE: And Dow Jones is reporting that the story is false.

NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Dow Jones & Co. (DJ) denied a press report Friday that said Rupert Murdoch has agreed with the Dow Jones board to terms of a $5 billion bid for the company.

A spokeswoman for Dow Jones said the report from The Business was "false." She said there has been "no change" in ongoing negotiations on the takeover offer from News Corp. (NWS). "The only agreement is on editorial independence," said the spokeswoman, Andrea Grinbaum.