A Denver trust representing heirs of the Bancroft family who control 9.1 percent of Dow Jones & Co.’s voting stock plan to reject a buyout offer from News Corp., The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
The Bancroft family, which controls 83 percent of the company’s voting shares, is divided on whether to accept News Corp.’s offer of $60 a share. The Denver branch of the family is reportedly holding out for $72 for each voting share, while the company’s board reportedly wants holders of the common and voting shares to receive the same price.
Some Bancroft family members are opposed more generally to News Corp. and its chairman, Rupert Murdoch, taking over Dow Jones and its flagship publication, The Wall Street Journal.
Lynn Hendrix and Charles A. Ramunno, partners at Holme Roberts and Owen LLP in Denver, manage the trusts on behalf of the Bancroft heirs.
