RUPERT Murdoch's News Corp has agreed on terms for its US$5 billion bid for Dow Jones & Co Inc, according to a report on the Website of financial magazine The Business.
The report cited sources acting for the Dow Jones board as saying that negotiations on the deal have been completed and that the board is confident it will be accepted by the Bancroft family, which has a majority stake in Dow Jones, over the next few days.
The report, written by Andrew Neil, a former Murdoch lieutenant and the chief executive of Press Holdings Media Group, which owns The Business, said that the deal was delayed until agreement was reached on a legally enforceable undertaking by Murdoch to "preserve the Wall Street Journal's editorial independence."
News Corp will pay US$60 a share for Dow Jones stock, a 67 percent premium on the US$36 a share price in April before news of the bid leaked, the magazine said.
The Business said that a formal announcement on the deal is expected next week.