Dow Jones Rises on Reports Murdoch Has Enough Votes

By Leon Lazaroff
     July 31 (Bloomberg) -- Dow Jones & Co. shares rose as much
as 11 percent on reports Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. has enough
support from the Bancroft family to clinch its $5 billion
acquisition.
     The stock rose $5.45 to $57.01 at 9:37 a.m. after CNBC
called Murdoch's bid a ``done deal'' and said an agreement would
be completed later today. Family members and trusts representing
more than 30 percent of the voting power indicated to their
lawyers they support a sale, the New York Times said yesterday,
citing unidentified people briefed on the matter.
     The family's decision would clear the way for Murdoch to
fulfill a longstanding goal of acquiring the Wall Street
Journal, the second-largest U.S. newspaper, giving him a
financial news operation to buttress his television and
newspaper holdings in the U.S., Europe and Asia. New York-based
Dow Jones has been in Bancroft family hands for 105 years.
    ``It's a matter of reviving the Journal and spreading the
brand,'' said Hal Vogel, a New York-based media analyst and
author of ``Entertainment Industry Economics.'' ``Under Rupert
Murdoch, there'll be so many opportunities to expand the brand
around the world.''
     The $60-a-share price, worth about $1.23 billion to the
family, represents a 65 percent premium to Dow Jones's closing
price on April 30, a day before the bid was made public. The
shares dropped 13 percent between July 6 and yesterday on
speculation the Bancrofts would oppose the sale.