Bancroft's Divided over Murdoch's Bid for Dow Jones

So the Bancroft family had their meeting in a cozy conference room at the Hilton in Boston yesterday. Most of the family attended in person and a few conferenced in via telephone. They received a presentation from bankers, trustees and board members and then broke away to talk in private. They will now be given a few days to deliberate before a final vote will be taken. Here is a quick synopsis of the entire situation:

1. On May 1st it was announced that Rupert Murdoch and News Corp. had placed an unsolicited bid for Dow Jones at $60/share, representing a 65% premium on Dow Jones' closing price the day before of $36.33. The Bancroft family controls 64% of the voting shares of Dow Jones. Most of the remaining voting shares are for the sale. Murdoch needs slightly less than half of the Bancroft's to side with him in order to win the company.
2. Several other bids have emerged, including bids by former MySpace CEO Brad Greenspan and supermarket magnate Ron Burkle, but it is unlikely that either bid will succeed.
3. Deliberations have gone on for months now and the meeting yesterday is the last before a family-wide vote. Rupert Murdoch gave the Bancroft's a one week deadline to reach a resolution.
4. Yesterday's results via the WSJ: "Their conclusion was clear: While they viewed the offer as a substantial one that would give Dow Jones much-needed resources to expand, they acknowledged that it would be difficult to guarantee that The Wall Street Journal's editorial independence would survive a sale, even under the guidelines agreed to by Dow Jones's board and News Corp."
5. The key new piece of information: "Jane MacElree, a family trustee who votes shares totaling about 15% of Dow Jones's total shareholder power, made it clear to the family she was in the anti-Murdoch camp, people familiar said. Ms. MacElree, a member of the Cox branch, is one of the most senior Bancrofts and has been viewed as a swing vote. Her decision could put her at odds with some of her seven children, who support the deal."
6. When will we know the results? "Family members . . . will be given several days to cast their votes on the deal, and it could be next week before the results of the poll are known."

So there you have it. The meeting occurred. One more trustee is against the sale to Murdoch, but the key issues remain unchanged. We should know the results of the vote by next week. For its part, the street is slightly discounting the possibility of the sale going through and the stock is sitting at $53.44 off 2.3% since the meeting yesterday. While this is less than the $60 if the deal goes through it is still far above the value the stock will likely drop to if the deal falls through. The odds still seem to be in Murdoch's favor.

Via the WSJ: "New Opposition Arises to Dow Jones Deal"