Dow Jones shareholders OK sale to Murdoch

NEW YORK, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- More than 50 percent of Dow Jones & Co. shareholder votes have approved the New York company's sale to News Corp., a published report said Wednesday.

The proxy-vote tally comes a day ahead of a Dow Jones shareholder meeting at which the shareholder vote will officially end more than a century of Bancroft family ownership at Dow Jones, the company's Wall Street Journal reported.

Representatives of Dow Jones and News Corp. declined to comment.

News Corp. is offering $60 a share, or more than $5 billion, for Dow Jones.

As of the deal's Aug. 1 announcement, News Corp.'s offer received support from Bancroft family members holding 37.4 percent of Dow Jones voting power.

The family's total voting stake is 64.2 percent.

It is unclear how many more members of the Bancroft family threw their support behind the deal, the Journal said.