New York - News Corp., the media conglomerate controlled by Rupert Murdoch, has made a $5 billion -- or $60 per share -- unsolicited buyout offer for Dow Jones & Co., the New York-based provider of business news and information services and publisher of The Wall Street Journal.

Dow Jones announced on Tuesday that its board of directors is "evaluating the proposal."

A major player in the bid will be the Bancroft family, which owns 24% of the company's stock, but controls 64% of its voting stock.

News Corp. already plans to launch a business news cable channel in the fourth quarter, and the bid for Dow Jones is seen as a strategy of acquiring a well-established brand name in the field.

Shares in Dow Jones surged more than $19 to about $56 on Tuesday morning, immediately following the announcement of News Corp.'s bid, a gain of more than 50%.

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/22o3dw

http://tinyurl.com/255bba (Bloomberg)