This Day In Murdochiana: The Clock Is Running

Well, after last week came and went with the Bancroft family--touted as press-shy and reclusive at the outset of this ordeal only to become like everybody else in the world: desirous of seeing their name in print--holed up in a Boston hotel, enjoying the continental breakfast but not reaching any conclusion as to how they were going to vote on the matter of Rupert Murdoch, someone had the good sense to step in and give the dithering family a deadline of 5 p.m. today to make up their minds For forcing this matter to at long last maybe come to a head, we have the family's lead trustee, Michael B. Elefante, to thank. So, if they give out a Nobel Prize in the field of "OMG! Just Get On With It, Already!" this year, we have our frontrunner.

Here's the current state of the vote: Too close to call. Last week, Murdoch critics were cleaving Jane MacElree to their bosom, holding her out as the Vote That Could Scotch the Deal. Well, since then, MacElree has taken stock of all the legal liabilities she'd be subject to if she kept people from cashing in, and has "quit as the trustee of some of the trusts she oversees," removing a significant obstacle in the way of the takeover bid. She'll still vote "no," but her votes will not be as significant a denying force.

That said, where Jane MacElree opens a window, a bloc of family members from Denver barricade another door. This bloc, called "the Denver trust" by Editor and Publisher holds a sizable 9.1% of voting stock, and have indicated that, at the moment, they plan to vote against the takeover. It's hard to gauge whether their bloc has got the needed swing, but over at FishbowlNY, the news has led them to wonder: "Murdoch Dow Bid Dead?"

Lest you think, however, that the "Denver trust's" intentions are altruistic in nature, well, think again. They simply wants Murdoch to up his ante:

"The Denver trust have argued that the super-voting B class shareholders should receive a premium of 10-20% over the $60 offer. In their view, News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch should be willing to pay an extra $120 million to $240 million -- the cost of paying more to B shareholders -- to clinch the $5 billion deal. The Bancroft family owns about 83% of the roughly 20 million B shares."

As it stands, plenty of people are skeptical that the proposed deadline will be honored, with boards of both Dow Jones and News Corp. "bracing for the possibility that they will not have a definitive answer." One unnamed source "close to Dow Jones management" told the New York Times, "The potential for chaos is high." Gee...you think?

So, tune in later today--or not.

Related:
Fish Or Cut Bait: Bancrofts Get 5 PM Deadline For Murdoch Dow Jones Deal [Editor and Publisher]
More Surprises in DowJones/Murdoch Saga [Editor and Publisher]
Bancrofts Said Divided as Journal Deadline Looms [New York Times]
Murdoch Dow Bid Dead? [FishbowlNY]