2 investors offer alternative to Dow Jones

NEW YORK, July 10 (UPI) -- Two U.S. investors met with a Dow Jones & Co. board committee Tuesday night to discuss keeping the company independent, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Los Angeles Internet entrepreneur Brad Greenspan and Beverly Hills, Calif., supermarket mogul Ron Burkle presented proposals for the company, even as Dow Jones closed in on a $5 billion deal to sell itself to Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., the Dow Jones newspaper said.

The two men, who had been exploring independent plans for Dow Jones, agreed to team up for the meeting with the board committee, the newspaper said.

The meeting's details were not released.

The family's board representatives planned to meet with Dow Jones advisers Wednesday to discuss the results of their efforts to look for alternatives to a News Corp. purchase.

The independent directors and company advisers could then meet with News Corp. and reach an agreement in principle for the company late this week, the Journal said. A final agreement could take much longer -- and is not guaranteed, the newspaper said.

Greenspan is founder of the popular MySpace social-networking site, which News Corp. purchased for $580 million in 2005.

Burkle unsuccessfully tried to buy Chicago's Tribune Co. this year and 12 newspapers McClatchy Co. purchased from Knight Ridder Inc. last year.