Bancrofts Agree to Sale

Enough members of the Bancroft family are supporting Rupert Murdoch's $5B bid for Dow Jones to seal the deal. The Wall Street Journal reports that 32% of the votes in its parent company are virtually guaranteed to Murdoch's News Corp.; the tycoon will likely be able to pick up the rest from other shareholders.

The consensus hinged on a major Bancroft trust that was swayed to the offer late last night, after Dow Jones agreed to pay firms consulting the family. The News Corp. and Dow Jones boards will each convene this afternoon, and will consider how to proceed. Murdoch has expressed his wish to gather an even more comfortable cushion of support from the Bancrofts.