May 7, 2007 09:55 AM
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New York, 10:25 AM
Wed Feb 10
58 posts in the last 24 hours
It's next week already, and dark lord Rupert Murdoch still craves Dow Jones. On Friday, the first shareholder, a minor one, filed suit against the standing-firm Bancroft family for not considering the Murdoch offer: That shareholder is a whiny little bitch from New Jersey and we imagine that claim will be thrown out faster than a cat litter box full of rotten squid. But how are the real players doing?
Two members of the Ottaway family—who hold 6% of the Class B (i.e., the ones that count) shares of Dow Jones, are still against the bid, claiming that Murdoch will compromise the integrity of the Journal. Former Dow Jones Chairman/CEO Peter Kann feels the same way. Too bad, says David Carr: Dow Jones will be sold, and if Murdoch gets it he's going to do what he wants with it; that's just his way. (Across the pond, former Murdoch employees agree. "You can bet your bottom dollar," says Steven Glover of the Independent, "that if Mr Murdoch does get the paper he will take it downmarket. That is what he always does.")
But why buy the paper instead of just starting a competitor? The Times suggests it indicates that Murdoch is now part of the establishment. Also, the dude is old (this is us, here), the way that young wife is running him ragged, how much time does he have? Andrew Ross Sorkin suggests that Murdoch may be the best-equipped publisher for the Journal, since he's creative, far-sighted, and, most importantly, liquid. The New Yorker's Ben McGrath offers similar wishful thinking.
Other voices: Jon Friedman suggests that CNBC had better watch its ass, and Warren Buffett says there are probably a few folks prepared to pay more for the company. In any event, Dow Jones stock continues to soar, and that rising tide has lifted many sad little media boats.
Previously: Day Four Of Murdoch's Attack On Dow Jones
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