Rupert Murdoch said on Wednesday he had hoped to negotiate a deal to acquire Dow Jones “in a private setting” but had been forced to discuss the offer publicly after it was “leaked” last week. He said he was a “great admirer” of the Bancroft family which controls Dow Jones, owner of the Wall Street Journal, but declined to say any more about the offer. The Bancroft family, which controls 64 per cent of Dow Jones’ voting shares, has rejected Mr Murdoch’s $60 per share offer and has not yet agreed to Mr Murdoch’s request for a meeting. Mr Murdoch’s comments came in a call to analysts after News Corp released results for its third fiscal quarter. The success of movies such as Night at the Museum and DVD sales of Borat fuelled record profits in the company’s filmed entertainment division, increasing total 3Q profits to $871m, up 6 per cent and in line with analysts’ average forecasts. DealBook, meanwhile, notes “growing doubts” over Mr Murdoch’s Dow Jones bid.
