WARSAW—Rupert Murdoch said Wednesday he had no plans to raise his $5 billion bid for media group Dow Jones & Co. Inc. and expected final approval from its controlling Bancroft family within two to three weeks, "if at all."
This would run counter to a view held by some investors and financial analysts, who have expected Murdoch to raise his offer, if only slightly, to seal a deal.
When asked during a visit to Warsaw if his company, News Corp., would raise its bid, Murdoch said no.
"Everything is done. We are just waiting for a final approval of the Bancroft family," Murdoch told Reuters. "The final approval is in the next two, three week's time, or not at all."
Murdoch was to meet Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski and government officials ahead of the relaunch of a television station in which he has a significant stake.
The remarks were one of the strongest indications yet that Murdoch might walk away from his bid to buy Dow Jones, the publisher of the Wall Street Journal.
That would likely send Dow Jones shares tumbling back to their price levels before the offer was made public, analysts have said.
A representative of the Bancroft family declined to comment. A Dow Jones spokeswoman was not immediately available.
But one source familiar with the talks said negotiations were ongoing.
Some issues regarding editorial independence for Dow Jones' news operations, as well as other terms and conditions, still must be worked out, the source said.
Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters Tuesday that News Corp. had cleared a major obstacle to a potential deal after the two companies agreed in principle on safeguards to the editorial independence of Dow Jones' news operations.
Murdoch, News Corp.'s chief executive, is building a financial news channel for cable television, aiming to usurp General Electric Co.'s CNBC, which has a news partnership with Dow Jones.
The Bancroft family met Murdoch in early June and discussed a proposal to protect editorial independence, but the talks accelerated recently after the Dow Jones board took the lead in negotiations.
Some three dozen Bancroft family members control Dow Jones through a combined ownership of 64 percent of voting shares.
Murdoch is offering to buy the company for $60 per share, a 65 percent premium to Dow Jones' stock price before the company's disclosure of the bid at the beginning of May.
Dow Jones shares closed down 21 cents at $58.56, while News Corp.'s class A stock fell 13 cents to $21.38, both on the New York Stock Exchange.
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