News Corp said on Thursday its hard-fought acquisition of Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones & Co may be completed next week as the Dow Jones chief executive announced his departure.
"The acquisition of Dow Jones by News Corporation will be voted on by Dow Jones shareholders on December 13, 2007, and is expected to be completed shortly thereafter," said a statement issued by both companies.
News Corp, the conglomerate headed by Australian-born mogul Rupert Murdoch, clinched a deal earlier this year to take over the prestigious media group after members of the controlling family of shareholders accepted a US$5.6 billion takeover offer.
Meanwhile Dow Jones announced that CEO Richard Zannino plans to leave the company after the closing of the acquisition but would assist in the transition.
"I understand Rich's decision to seek new challenges," said Murdoch, who is chairman and chief executive officer of News Corp.
"Under his leadership, Dow Jones has reinforced its position as the premier provider of business news content and embarked on many new initiatives important to the company's future," Murdoch said.
"Dow Jones is about to begin a new chapter. Dow Jones fits perfectly into News Corp, and Rupert and I have been discussing since September my moving on from the company after the closing," Zannino said.
The Journal reported that Dow Jones veteran executive Les Hinton would become new CEO at Dow Jones and that Times of London editor Robert Thomson would be the new publisher of the daily. The Journal cited people familiar with the situation.
Some of the family members and journalists at the Journal had opposed the offer, fearing damage to the newspaper's integrity in a takeover by Murdoch, who has a reputation for meddling in editorial affairs.
The deal, pending expected approval by a shareholder vote, was sealed after members of the Bancroft family and trustees -- representing about 37 percent of the family's 64 percent voting power -- agreed to the sale, the two companies said.
The merger agreement addresses a key concern that had sharply divided the Bancrofts by calling for the editorial independence of the Journal, the leading US business newspaper.
In related news, Rupert Murdoch's 34-year-old son James, has been named chairman and chief executive of media giant News Corp in Europe and Asia, the group said in a statement yesterday.
News Corp said the appointment would "allow for more cohesive management" of the group's operating units, News International Sky, Sky Italia, STAR Group and News Corp Europe.
The younger Murdoch is currently chief executive officer at the Murdoch-controlled British-based satellite television broadcaster BSkyB, a post he has held since 2003.
He is to be replaced at BSkyB, in which News Corp is the leading shareholder, by financial director Jeremy Darroch.
In his new post James Murdoch will be responsible for development at the Wall Street Journal Europe, the Times and the Sun as well as Australian publications controlled by News Corp.
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