Andrew Ros Roskin asks in today’s New York Times:
What To Do When Rupert Calls?
Some of his insights:
Dow Jones’s chief executive, Richard F. Zannino, appears to be a clear advocate of a sale to Mr. Murdoch, describing the benefits of a deal to the board this week, according to people at the meeting.
A week before Mr. Murdoch made his bid, the two men had breakfast in Mr. Murdoch’s office.
Mr. Zannino has been flirting with Mr. Murdoch for years — often over meetings put together by bankers like Mr. Murdoch’s longtime adviser James B. Lee Jr. of JPMorgan Chase.
The News Corporation is also being advised by Nancy Peretsman of Allen & Company and Blair W. Effron of Centerview Partners.
Mr. Zannino stands to make a handsome personal profit if Dow Jones is sold, of course, but when the chief executive thinks that it is better to sell the company than to keep it, shareholders should consider that a clear sign that some sort of financial impasse has been reached.
The Bancrofts have clearly reached such an impasse — some of it of their own making and some of it attributable to revolutionary business shifts beyond their control.
If the family cares about preserving the Dow Jones legacy and seeing the company continue to flourish, it’s time to be financially creative.
Rupert Murdoch is knocking on their door.
Photomontage by The New York Times.
0 Responses to “WHEN CITIZEN MURDOCH CALLS”