Bancroft Family Is Holding Out

This afternoon Michael Elefante (pictured, right), a Dow Jones board member and representative of the Bancroft Family Trust, announced that the Bancroft family intends to turn down Rupert Murdoch's $5 billion offer for Dow Jones. This was the move that I anticipated. Any good fiduciary would have told the family to hold out for a better offer. It is my personal belief that the family members are surely aware that if they play their cards right they could get a 20-25% premium on the current offer before all is said and done.

Remember, the Bancroft voting shares are not consolidated into 1 or 2 hands. It is estimated that roughly 20 family members control a significant percentage of voting shares. Though they control 65 % of the company, currently shares representing "slightly more than 50% of the outstanding voting power" will vote against the sale. In other words, even at $5 billion the Bancroft family isn't voting all together. If the right price is reached enough family members will agree, and Dow Jones will be sold. This, if anything is encouraging news for News Corp.

The article I read over at Dealbook mentions the potential for a sweetened News Corp. offer. I think they probably will lob another offer up to the plate, I just don't think they will be the only ones.