News Corp, Dow Jones deal expected Tuesday-source

(Reuters) - By Robert MacMillan and Kenneth Li



NEW YORK, July 31 - Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. is expected to reach a definitive agreement to buy Dow Jones & Co. Inc. on Tuesday evening, capping his three-month pursuit of the publisher of the Wall Street Journal, a source familiar with the matter said.


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Report says Barclays seeks billions for ABN

(Reuters) - The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, said Barclays was close to an agreement to sell what it described as a large stake to Temasek and another investor to help back its bid for ABN.




The newspaper said on its www.wsj.com website that while the size of Temasek's potential stake in Barclays was not clear, a Barclays stake of 5 percent to 10 percent would be worth about $4.8 billion to $9.6 billion, based on Barclays's market value.


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`Overlooked Asset,' Rupee Effect, Harry Potter and the Aftermath: Timshel

(Bloomberg) -- If Rupert Murdoch changed his mind
and bought Dow Jones & Co. in a stock swap, the purchase would
hardly dent News Corp.'s treasury.

The $5 billion that Murdoch has offered for the publisher
of the Wall Street Journal is equivalent to 204 million of his
company's Class A shares, which include voting rights, or 220
million non-voting Class B shares.


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UPDATE 1-Dow Jones quarterly profit falls, revenue rises

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 19 - Dow Jones & Co. Inc. , which soon could be bought by News Corp. for $5 billion, said one-time charges lowered quarterly profit, while its digital business pushed up revenue despite lower ad sales at its flagship Wall Street Journal.



Second-quarter profit fell to $21 million, or 25 cents a share, from $28.8 million, or 34 cents a share, a year earlier.


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Dow Jones Shares Rise After Journal Says Agreement With Murdoch Reached

(Bloomberg) -- Dow Jones & Co. shares rose after the
Wall Street Journal reported Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. has
reached a tentative deal to acquire the company for $5 billion.

Dow Jones shares rose 1.8 percent in German trading today.
The Dow Jones board will vote this evening on the $60-a-share
offer after negotiators reached an agreement yesterday, the
Journal said, citing people familiar with the situation. Linda
Dunbar, a Dow Jones spokeswoman in New York, and Kate Dobbin, a
London-based company spokeswoman, declined to comment.


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Bancroft member moves to block sale of Dow Jones-source

(Reuters) - Bancroft is trying to buy more "supervoting" shares from
other Bancroft heirs who may be ready to sell their stakes but
share his distaste for handing the family legacy to Murdoch, the
Journal said.




News Corp., owner of Fox News, the New York Post and a
sprawling global media empire, has offered $5 billion, or $60 a
share, for Dow Jones, the publisher of the Wall Street Journal.


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Icahn takes stake in Kraft Foods - WSJ

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 13 - Billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn has taken a stake in Kraft Foods Inc. , according to the online version of The Wall Street Journal.



The story did not make clear how much of a stake Icahn has taken or when he bought the shares, but it did say he was not seeking radical changes, as he has at other companies in which he has invested.


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US STOCKS-Futures signal weak start on liquidity worry

(Reuters) - In takeover news, Rupert Murdoch told Reuters on Wednesday
he had no plan to raise his News Corp.'s bid for Dow
Jones & Co. Inc. and said he is waiting for final
approval of the proposed acquisition from the Bancroft family,
which controls the publisher of the Wall Street Journal. For
details, see [ID:nL27771376].




A weak Japanese currency has allowed investors to borrow
cheaply in yen to buy higher-yielding assets elsewhere, a
practice known as carry trade. The yen rose on Wednesday
against the dollar and euro.


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US STOCKS-Futures point to flat open; housing data eyed

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 25 - U.S. stock index futures
indicated a flat open on Monday after last week's sharp
declines and before housing data that is expected show a
decline in home resales last month.




Dobson Communications Corp.'s stock rose more than
5 percent before the open after the Wall Street Journal online
edition said the rural wireless provider was mulling strategic
options, including a possible sale.


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US STOCKS-Futures rise on growth optimism

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 25 - U.S. stock index futures rose
on Monday, pointing to a rebound for the market from last
week's sharp declines as optimism about economic growth
replaces interest-rate worries.




Dobson Communications Corp. kicked off a fresh
round of merger-and-acquisition chatter as the rural wireless
provider mulls strategic options, including a possible sale,
the Wall Street Journal Online reported.


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BC Partners near deal to buy Intelsat: source

(Reuters) - It would be the largest solo deal in the firm's 18-year history and its first acquisition of a company with U.S. headquarters.




BC Partners was locked in an auction with a bidding duo consisting of Liberty Media Holding Corp. and EchoStarCommunications Corp. , which could make a fresh offer, according to the Wall Street Journal, which cited people familiar with the matter.


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Stocks set to open higher on M&A

(Reuters) - Shares of Alcoa rose 2.4 percent in trading before the bell after the Times newspaper in London reported BHP Billiton Ltd./Plc , the world's biggest mining group, may bid for the aluminium producer.




General Electric Co. and Pearson Plc may challenge News Corp.'s $5 billion bid for Dow Jones & Co. with a plan that could let Dow Jones's controlling Bancroft family keep an interest in the company, the Financial Times and The Wall Street Journal reported on their Web sites.


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Dow Jones rival bid plan may include family: reports

(Reuters) - Selling Dow Jones, publisher of The Wall Street Journal, to GE and Pearson, would be a better journalistic fit than News Corp., but there is "no rush" to examine the plan, an unidentified Bancroft family member told the Financial Times.




Talks are at an early stage and could collapse or result in another structure for a Dow Jones bid, both papers reported.


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UPDATE 1-Dow Jones rival bid plan may include family-papers

(Reuters) - One option for GE and Pearson would be to allow the
Bancroft family to keep a 20 percent stake in the company,
reported the Financial Times, which is published by Pearson.




Selling Dow Jones, publisher of The Wall Street Journal, to
GE and Pearson, would be a better journalistic fit than News
Corp., but there is "no rush" to examine the plan, an
unidentified Bancroft family member told the Financial Times.


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Liberty Media, Echostar to bid for Intelsat-report

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 14 - Liberty Media Corp. and EchoStar Communications Corp. are preparing a joint offer for satellite-communications provider Intelsat Ltd., The Wall Street Journal's online edition said on Thursday.



Intelsat, which is accepting final bids for its auction on Thursday, could fetch more than $5.5 billion, the Journal said.


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