Report: NBC, Microsoft Explored Dow Jones Bid

NEW YORK, June 11: NBC Universal and Microsoft considered
making a joint bid to acquire Dow Jones & Company, press reports indicate,
to compete with News Corporation’s $5 billion bid for the Wall Street
Journal publisher.

According to the New York Times, representatives from NBC and Microsoft—which
jointly operate CNBC—met with advisers to the Bancroft family, which
controls the majority of Dow Jones’ voting stock. After some early discussions,
the two companies decided against the bid, with a source close to the
negotiations telling the Times:
“Mainly, the economics just didn’t make sense.”

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. is currently in discussions with
the Bancrofts, who have said they are open to its $5-billion bid, as well as
other competitive offers. If the deal goes through, the Journal would become part of Murdoch’s stable of newspaper
assets around the world, and would bolster his plans to launch the Fox Business
Channel in the U.S. later this year as a competitor to NBC Universal’s CNBC.