Burkle and Greenspan Present Alternatives to Murdoch Bid for Dow Jones

Supermarket magnate Ron Burkle and Internet entrepreneur Brad Greenspan met late Tuesday with a committee of Dow Jones's board to propose alternatives to Rupert Murdoch's $5 billion offer for the company. Burkle, who is acting as advisor to the Dow Jones journalists' union in its search for a rival bidder, has been exploring an employee stock-ownership plan for the company. Greenspan, who offered $60 per share for 25% of the company last month, has approached other potential investors, including EchoStar Communications and Intel. The proposals are viewed as a long shot, since even individuals who oppose a Murdoch takeover question the viability of a takeover by anyone else. "The search for any buyer but Murdoch makes little sense to me," said former Dow Jones CEO Peter Kann, who hopes the Bancroft family -- the company's controlling shareholders -- will not sell at all. "[I]f the family is going to sell," he wrote in an email, "I see no point in pursuing industrial conglomerates, Internet entrepreneurs, supermarket magnates and real-estate developers...at least [Murdoch] loves newspapers...and would seem to have little incentive to tarnish a trophy he has coveted for so long." The Tuesday meeting was apparently intended to mollify several Bancrofts, including Dow Jones director Leslie Hill, who are frustrated by the company's failure to locate an alternative to Murdoch. The family's board representatives will meet with company advisors Wednesday to review the new proposals.

Sources: Wall Street Journal, AP
Commentary: Dow Jones: Report of a Completed Sale Is Premature • Dow Jones Board Takes Over News Corp. Talks; MySpace Founder Makes an Offer • Is Brad Greenspan the Bancrofts' White Knight?
Stocks/ETFs to watch: Dow Jones & Company Inc. (DJ), News Corp. (NWS). Competitors: Reuters Group PLC [ADR] (RTRSY). ETFs: PowerShares Dynamic Media Portfolio ETF (PBS)
Earnings call transcripts: Dow Jones Q1 2007, News Corporation F3Q07

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