GE-Pearson Bid For Dow Jones Would Challenge Murdoch, Boost CNBC

“General Electric Co. and Financial Times publisher Pearson PLC are in talks about making a joint bid for Dow Jones that would allow” the Bancroft family “to keep a minority interest,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “Under a scenario that has been discussed, GE’s CNBC unit, the FT and Dow Jones would be combined in a privately-held joint venture.”

More: “The GE-Pearson discussions — which are preliminary and could collapse, these people cautioned — signal that a viable alternative may be emerging to News Corp.’s $5 billion bid. Until now, Mr. Murdoch, News Corp.’s chairman, has been in the pole position, with few serious bidders surfacing. But the appearance of GE, which owns NBC News and the CNBC business channel, and Pearson brings to the fore two names that may be more palatable to the Bancroft family, which has been haggling over negotiating an editorial-independence agreement with Mr. Murdoch.” Read the rest…