With the Dow Jones Sale Inevitable, Murdoch’s Media Empire Will Control America’s Most Trusted Index and ETF Counterpart

July 31, 2007 at 2:00 pm by Tom Lydon

The Dow Jones industrial average and its exchange traded fund (ETF) counterpart, DIAMONDS Trust, Series 1 (DIA), will soon be under the control of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. The currently controlling Bancroft family has put 38% of the overall voting stock in support of the deal, according to Russ Britt and Angela Moore for MarketWatch. The Bankcrofts’ Class B shares when added to the Class A voting shares, which are expected to be tremendously in favor of the sale, will ensure a majority vote of the $5 billion transaction at $60 a share. The news sent Dow Jones (DJ) shares up $6.02, or 11.7%, to $57.58 today.

FOX News, another entity of Murdoch’s, will launch a business cable channel in October, according to Peter Cohan for BloggingStocks. With all these lofty plans in motion, will the trusted American index be affected as well? The Dow has made few changes over the years. But as FOX has turned news into a flashier production, can we expect a jazzier Dow index?

Tags: Dow Jones Industrial Average, Media, S&P 500