News Corp. appeared to win a 5- billion-dollar deal for Dow Jones, as a key Bancroft trust decided to accept the offer for the company, said Tuesday The Wall Street Journal on its website.
The trust, overseen by a Denver law firm, holds 9.1 percent of Dow Jones's voting shares, changed its mind after News Corp. refused its proposal to raise the price.
It is not clear whether the Denver trust will vote its entire stake in favor of the deal, said the journal.
However, the trust's decision likely increases to at least 38 percent the amount of voting stock held by the Bancroft family that now supports the News Corp.
Some Bancroft family members representing 32 percent of the company's vote had agreed to the deal, unnamed people familiar with the situation was quoted by the journal.
The Bancrofts have 64.2 percent of the overall votes in Dow Jones while public shareholders, likely to support the deal, represent 29 percent of the vote.
Shares of Dow Jones were up 12 percent as investors reacted to reports that a deal was imminent.
News Corp. has scheduled a board meeting for 4 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, when it will decide its next step. Dow Jones's board is due to meet Tuesday evening.
Source: Xinhua
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