- Facebook Fiasco: 10 Things Underwriters Got Wrong
- Sticker Shock: What College Is Likely to Cost in 18 Years
- Citigroup Lost $20 Million on Facebook IPO Trades
- Bankia Asks Spain for $24 Billion Bailout
- Many Greeks Moved Their Money Abroad Long Ago
- Still Like Facebook? There’s an ETF for That.
- Greek Exit Could Trigger 50% Fall in Euro Stocks: Analyst
- Main Players in the Greek Election
- SpaceX Dragon Successfully Docks With Space Station
- A New Look at the ‘New Poor’
- Six Pack: Beer Buzz of the Week
- Greek Exit Could Trigger 50% Fall in Euro Stocks: Analyst
- Under Pressure, FHA Skews to Wealthier Home Buyers
- Big Stock Upside for Hudson City Deal: Analyst
- 5 High-Yield Stocks Ready to Boost Dividends
- Yoshikami: Four Things You Need to Know About Gold Now
- Steinbock: The Euro Zone Endgame Begins
- Option Bulls Take Another Shot on Idenix
MOST SHARED
- S&P Cuts Ratings on Five Spanish Banks
- Where Large Banks Fail, Regionals are Succeeding: Bove
- Marc Faber: 100% Chance of Global Recession
- The Shortage of Women Billionaires
- Greek Exit Could Trigger 50% Fall in Euro Stocks: Analyst
- Reum: Successfully Marketing Liquor through Facebook
- Facebook Analyst Reports All Over the Map
- Yoshikami: Four Things You Need to Know About Gold Now
- Under Pressure, FHA Skews to Wealthier Home Buyers
- Facebook IPO Fiasco: 10 Things Underwriters Got Wrong
MOST POPULAR
HOT ON FACEBOOK
FT Publisher Pearson Seeking Partners For Dow Jones Bid: WSJ
Text Size 
Financial Times publisher Pearson is seeking partners to make a possible bid for Wall Street Journal owner Dow Jones & Co. [DJ
Loading...
()
], the Journal reported on its Web site Friday.
Pearson [PSO
Loading...
()
] has talked about potential partners, including U.S. newspaper publisher Hearst Corp. and General Electric [GE
Loading...
()
], which owns CNBC, the Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.
Dow Jones's controlling shareholders, the Bancroft family, are considering a $5 billion buyout bid from Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. [NWS
Loading...
()
].
A number of London-based analysts have said Murdoch's bid, if successful, could make Dow Jones a more aggressive competitor against Pearson. The Financial Times competes with the Wall Street Journal, although the paper, which has a stronghold in Europe, has far fewer U.S. readers than the New York-based Journal.
Steven Yount, president of the Dow Jones employee union, which is seeking other bidders to challenge Murdoch, said he was unaware of any interest from Pearson.
"I have not reached out to Pearson and they have not talked to me," he said.
The union has approached Berkshire Hathaway Chief Executive Warren Buffett about making a bid for Dow Jones. Berkshire Hathaway owns about 20% of the outstanding shares of the Washington Post Co.
Billionaire investor Ron Burkle is advising the union on bids.
Another potential bidder for Dow Jones is Brian Tierney, who led an investor group to buy The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News. Tierney has said he would be interested in working with partners on a bid.
The Bancroft family met Murdoch earlier this month, but some members have opposed his bid because they fear he would not preserve the editorial independence of Dow Jones's news operations.
Dow Jones, Pearson, GE, Hearst and News Corp. officials declined to comment. A spokesman for the Bancroft family was not immediately available for comment.
Pearson is the world's largest educational publisher. It publishes school textbooks, the Financial Times and Les Echos newspapers and general-interest books at its Penguin unit.
The company, headed by Texas-born Chief Executive Marjorie Scardino, has been particularly active on the acquisition front recently, although its deals have centered on strengthening its hand in education publishing businesses.
On May 14, Pearson announced a $477 million acquisition of Nasdaq-listed eCollege.com, a U.S. online distance learning business.
Earlier in May, Pearson made another strategic play in the education sector with the $950 million acquisition of Harcourt Assessment and Harcourt Education, two assets owned by Anglo-Dutch electronic publisher Reed Elsevier.
- The Nasdaq has suffered the most from the EU crisis showing there's risk in the usual tech stocks.
- Targeting more Millennials is just one of the items brewing for consumers in the world of spirits.
- It seems many people may need a reminder of how NOT to act on a plane. Here are a few tips.
- Here are some very unusual roadside stops along American highways that might peek your interest.
- How three generations of Americans are dealing with the finances of retirement.
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes
