NEW YORK, July 18 (UPI) -- The board of U.S. publisher Dow Jones & Co. approved News Corp.'s $5 billion bid and sent the offer to the controlling Bancroft family for a final vote.
The family is to meet Monday in Boston and will be given several days to consider the deal, Dow Jones's Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
The 16-member board's endorsement of Rupert Murdoch's $60-a-share offer puts pressure on the Bancrofts but doesn't obligate family members -- who have been divided over the bid -- to back the sale, the newspaper said.
It is also possible Murdoch could raise his offer at the 11th hour, The New York Times reported.
Dow Jones Chief Executive Officer Richard Zannino, Bancroft family trustee Michael Elefante and Bancroft family member Lisa Steele voted in support of the offer as it stood.
Bancroft family member Leslie Hill and Dieter von Holtzbrinck abstained from the vote, while family member Christopher Bancroft, who has sought News Corp. alternatives, left the meeting early, the Journal said.
News Corp. said it was "grateful" for the vote.
Family advisers estimated they would need less than half of the family's voting power to win approval of a deal because they expected a high number of non-family holders would support the transaction, the Journal said.
