The Bancrofts, the Wall Street Journal's large and secretive controlling family, have been quick to spurn Rupert Murdoch's 'unsolicited offer' of $5bn. But most observers believe this is no more than a lover's slap - the Bancrofts will ultimately accept the advances of their persuasive Australian suitor.
Others may pitch in with offers, but it is Murdoch who really wants the Dow Jones to underpin his expansion into business reporting.
The dance may be long and tiring. Families with voting stock in a company several generations down from their founders are often problematic. In the case of newspaper dynasties facing potential takeovers, where kudos as well as profits have diminished over the years, conflict of opinion is common.
As with the Sulzbergers at the New York Times or, until the recent sale, |
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How long before the Bancrofts crack and sell Murdoch the
Wall Street Journal, asks edward helmore |
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the Chandlers at the Los Angeles Times, the more diluted the company's stock becomes among members of the extended family, the more pressure there is to cash-in when an offer comes rather than live on paltry dividends.
Only at the Washington Post, where the shareholding of the controlling Graham family is still concentrated among a small number of immediate family members, will loyalty to dynastic principle win over the lure of an expensive new kitchen extension.
Murdoch knows this. His offer is set to split the Bancrofts down generational lines; the younger ones voting to sell the Journal's parent company, Dow Jones, and older members voting to keep it. As one older family member reportedly reasons, "without the Wall Street Journal we're just another rich family".
For guidance, the Bancrofts
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