Burkle to Work With Dow Jones Union on Alternatives (Update3)

By Cecile Daurat and Leon Lazaroff

June 5 (Bloomberg) -- Dow Jones & Co.'s union enlisted billionaire Ron Burkle to explore alternatives to Rupert Murdoch's $5 billion bid in an effort to secure the editorial independence of the Wall Street Journal.

Burkle's Yucaipa Cos. agreed to advise the union, spokesman Frank Quintero said today in an interview. Warren Buffett was also among the investors approached by the Independent Association of Publishers' Employees, which represents 2,000 employees of New York-based Dow Jones.

The union is stepping up efforts to block a sale to Murdoch a day after the Bancroft family met with him to discuss his bid. The Bancrofts, who control 64 percent of Dow Jones and had initially rejected the offer, described yesterday's meeting as ``constructive.'' They had no immediate comment today on Burkle's involvement, family spokesman Roy Winnick said.

``It's very interesting, but I'm skeptical Burkle and the union can compete with Murdoch,'' said Richard Dorfman, managing director of Richard Alan Inc., an investment firm focusing on media companies based in New York.

Shares of Dow Jones gained 38 cents to $60.54 as of 2:24 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Class A shares of News Corp., owner of more than 170 newspapers and the Fox News cable network, fell 13 cents to $22.44.

Murdoch is offering $60 for each Dow Jones share, or 65 percent more than the closing price on April 30, before the offer was made public.

`Constructive' Talks

Yucaipa, the Los Angeles-based buyout firm founded by Burkle, 54, hasn't met with members of the Bancroft family, spokesman Quintero said.

Yucaipa hasn't said whether it plans a competing bid, Dow Jones's IAPE union President Steve Yount said. The group, which is part of the Communications Workers of America, said yesterday that it hired Ownership Associates, an investment advisory firm in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to find investors that could propose alternatives to a takeover by Murdoch's News Corp.

``We retained Ownership Associates to go out there and round up a half dozen billionaires in helping this union to make a counter offer for Dow Jones,'' Yount said in an interview today. ``Of the people who have been contacted so far, Yucaipa has immediately expressed interest.''

Not A Buyer

Buffett's assistant Debbie Bosanek confirmed that Buffett received a letter from the union, saying she had no further details. Buffett said in a May 9 interview that while Dow Jones is a ``very, very interesting company,'' he would not use Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s money to pay for it.

Dow Jones spokesman Howard Hoffman declined to comment, as did Andrew Butcher, a spokesman for Murdoch's News Corp.

The union said today in a statement that it is ``hopeful'' that the Bancroft family will decide not to sell the company.

Burkle has been unsuccessful in recent attempts to buy newspapers. Yucaipa, working with the CWA union, was outbid for the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News last year. The seller, McClatchy Inc., accepted a $515 million offer from a group led by Brian Tierney instead.

Last year, Burkle offered to buy Tribune Co., the second- largest U.S. newspaper company, in a partnership with Los Angeles supermarket mogul Eli Broad. Tribune rejected their bid and is selling the company to real estate billionaire Sam Zell.

Murdoch, 76, also described his meeting with the Bancrofts as ``constructive'' in an interview yesterday. The family, which has controlled Dow Jones since 1902, held talks with Murdoch for the first time after it rejected his offer on May 1.

To contact the reporters on this story: Cecile Daurat in New York at cdaurat@bloomberg.net ; Leon Lazaroff in New York at llazaroff@bloomberg.net .

Last Updated: June 5, 2007 14:26 EDT

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