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Murdoch Meets with Dow Jones’s Bancrofts; Burkle Expresses Interest

Rupert Murdoch has said that his meeting yesterday (Monday) with Dow Jones’s controlling family, the Bancrofts, to discuss News Corp.‘s $5 billion bid for the company was “constructive” and lasted several hours, writes MarketWatch.

Speculation has it that the Bancroft family may want control over the Wall Street Journal editorial board, but Murdoch has said that he would not buy the newspaper unless he could run it. He has, however, said that he would appoint an oversight committee to ensure that the paper’s editorial integrity remains untouched.

Meanwhile, billionaire investor Ron Burkle has said that he is interested in bidding for Dow Jones, along with the union that represents Journal employees, writes the Philadelphia Inquirer. Steve Yount, president of the Dow Jones union, said Burkle was only the first of several potential bidders to make their interest known.

Burkle - together with fellow billionaire Eli Broad - recently bid for the Tribune Co. The company, however, eventually agreed to be taken private in a deal sponsored by Chicago real estate investor Sam Zell.