The Murdochs and the Bancrofts

Looks like there has been a change of heart in the Bancroft family and the sale of the company looks all but inevitable. Reuters

From the article:

The Bancroft family, which controls 64 percent of Dow Jones's voting power, said it would also look at offers from other bidders. Dow Jones in a separate statement said the board would consider News Corp.'s offer and other approaches.

The Bancroft decision is a change from its earlier rejection of Murdoch's $60-a-share bid, and brings the publisher of The Wall Street Journal closer to being sold after more than a century of being independent.

Obviously, assuming Murdoch gets this prize it would be unlikely that he will have a go at Pearson. Clearly the market sees this as a real event and the stock was up sharply on the news to slightly below the Murdoch offer level.