• by Erik Sass , June 6, 2007

Rupert Murdoch made strides in his effort to convince members of the Bancroft family to sell Dow Jones on Monday, according to a report posted on the BusinessWeek Web site. But just as the Australian media mogul got his foot in the door, another suitor showed up.

Ron Burkle--the California billionaire who recently purchased Primedia's enthusiast division, publisher of Hot Rod and Motor Trend, for $1.2 billion--is also being courted by the Dow Jones union.

Murdoch's bid for Dow Jones looks far more likely to succeed after his four-hour meeting with the Bancrofts, who dismissed his initial offer on May 1. They may, however, have been waiting for the dust to clear before entering negotiations. The family scheduled the meeting just as CEO Rich Zannino sent a memo to employees noting the hubbub was "finally showing signs of abating as there have been no significant new developments in recent days."

Murdoch is offering $60 a share for the company, for a total of about $5 billion. The Bancrofts own about 58% of the company's voting shares.

The Australian's interest in Dow Jones is almost certainly related to his plans to create a new Fox Business Channel, which could make use of Dow Jones' editorial products, including co-branded content from The Wall Street Journal, America's premiere business publication.

First, however, he must fend off a rumored rival offer from Burkle, who sees other possible synergies for the company. The grocery-store marketing magnate, who also bid unsuccessfully on the Tribune Co. and is said to be interested in American Media, is clearly on a media-buying spree. Burkle intends to integrate the special-interest publications into the operations of Source Interlink Cos., which provides marketing, media distribution and promotional services to thousands of supermarkets nationwide.

His plans for Dow Jones remain unclear, especially as he was not the originator of the proposal. Burkle's involvement is said to stem from an invitation by the Independent Association of Publishers' Employees, which represents The Wall Street Journal employees, to counter Murdoch's bid. Staffers are said to be concerned about the paper's editorial independence under Murdoch's ownership, as well as potential changes to employment contracts, including layoffs.