PanamaTimes

Tuesday, Mar 11, 2025

former Democratic presidential hopeful and former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg arrives for the tenth Democratic primary debate of the 2020 presidential campaign season

Media mogul Mike Bloomberg looks to buy WSJ or the Washington Post

A merger would create a financial data and news giant, further firming up the world’s 12th-richest man’s stronghold.

A merger would create a financial data and news giant, further firming up the world’s 12th-richest man’s stronghold.

Billionaire Michael Bloomberg, the owner of Bloomberg LP, is interested in acquiring either Wall Street Journal parent Dow Jones or the Washington Post, news website Axios has reported, citing an unnamed source familiar with the matter.

Such a merger would create a financial data and news giant, further firming up the world’s 12th-richest man’s powerful hold on the business and likely allowing his company to sell more Bloomberg Terminals – the main source of its revenue.

According to the Axios report, Bloomberg sees News Corp-owned Dow Jones, also the publisher of Barron’s and MarketWatch, as the ideal fit but would buy the Post if Amazon.com Inc founder Jeff Bezos were interested in selling.

Bloomberg LP, the Washington Post and Dow Jones did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.

Bloomberg has not reached out to Rupert Murdoch to discuss a possible acquisition and there are no active talks with the Murdochs as of now, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters, adding that it is unclear if Murdoch would be open to considering an offer.

In conversations with advisers over the years, Michael Bloomberg has expressed the desire to own a big-name newspaper that would allow him to influence the public conversation on issues like climate change and expand the reach of his business news empire, another source said.

Any tie-up would be closely reviewed by regulators, who would examine impacts on users of financial information services and the labour market for business journalists, according to antitrust lawyers.

“The transaction would be challenged only if the resulting choices leave insufficient competition in the market for either users or suppliers. So, the devil is in the [market] details.” said anti-trust lawyer Jonathan Rubin.

The Federal Trade Commission declined to comment. The Department of Justice and Federal Communications Commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Shares of News Corp were up 3 percent in a broadly weaker market.



Calls for spin-off
In October, Rupert Murdoch had started a process that could reunite his media empire, News Corp and Fox Corp, nearly a decade after the companies split.

The proposal has, however, met stern opposition from several shareholders who said a combination on its own would fail to realise the full value of News Corp and have instead suggested a spin-off of the media company’s digital real estate business or Dow Jones as an alternative to the merger.

Activist investor Irenic Capital Management, which holds about 2 percent of News Corp’s Class B voting shares, wrote a November letter to Murdoch and the News Corp board that Dow Jones would be highly valued as a separately traded company.

Craig Huber, media analyst at Huber Research Partners, said he would be “shocked” if Murdoch sold the Wall Street Journal and has likely told his family not to sell it either.

“The WSJ is a trophy property to the Murdoch family,” he said, adding that the speculation is likely a result of his plan to reunite his media empire.

Bloomberg, 80, has not reached out to Murdoch, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Reuters competes with Bloomberg News, a unit of Bloomberg LP, as a provider of financial news.

Bloomberg, who is the co-founder and CEO of the media company, was mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013, and was a candidate for the 2020 Democratic nomination for president of the United States.

Newsletter

Related Articles

PanamaTimes
0:00
0:00
Close
Mark Carney Selected as Leader of Canada's Liberal Party, Poised to Assume the Role of Prime Minister
Pope Francis Displays Signs of Recovery, Yet His Hospitalization Persists.
Trump Administration Unveils Self-Deportation App for Undocumented Immigrants
Trump Administration Plans New Travel Ban Including Afghanistan and Pakistan
Global Scam Syndicate Capitalizes on Fraudulent Celebrity Advertisements to Deceive Thousands
Devastating Passing of 20-Year-Old American Bodybuilder Sparks Health Worries
Microsoft to Sunset Skype in May, Prioritizing Teams as Communication Evolves
Katy Perry Set to Join All-Female Crew for Blue Origin Flight
Apple Resolves iPhone Dictation Bug That Linked 'Racist' to 'Trump'
Proposal Introduced for $250 Bill Featuring Donald Trump
Research Examines Possible Connection Between COVID-19 Vaccines and Post-Vaccination Syndrome
Latin America News Update: Gatherings, Legal Conflicts, and Economic Developments
Vatican Declares Pope Francis' Health Status as 'Critical'
Mexico Suggests Constitutional Amendments to Protect Sovereignty Following U.S. Terrorist Labels on Cartels
Tequila Sector Faces Oversupply Challenge as Agave Prices Fall Sharply
Pope Francis Continues His Hospital Stay While Doctors Treat Complicated Infection
AI Giants Contest Nvidia's Supremacy with Emerging Chip Innovations
California's CalExit Movement Grows Momentum Amid Political and Economic Discourse in the State
Trump Asserts BRICS 'Is Finished' In Light of Tariff Threats
CPJ Report Indicates Highest Number of Journalists Killed in 2024
Climate change presents considerable threats to worldwide cocoa production.
Apple Releases Critical Security Update Following Vulnerability Reports
Justin Bieber Sparks Concern as New Footage Raises Health Fears
Trump Administration Directs Admiral to Leave Official Residence in Three Hours
US Confiscates Second Aircraft Associated with Maduro's Government
The Trump administration is considering El Salvador's proposal to accommodate U.S. prisoners.
Trump Wins Again as Canada Agrees to Strengthen Border Security
Wall Street Journal Criticizes Trump's Trade War with Canada and Mexico
Trump Freezes Tariffs on Mexico After Agreement on Border Security
Nearly 96% of New Cars Registered in Norway in January Were Electric
Marco Rubio Urges Panama to Limit Chinese Influence Amid Canal Dispute
Apple Surpasses Revenue and Earnings Expectations, But iPhone Sales Disappoint
Bill Gates Reflects on Past Mistakes and Acknowledges Yuval Noah Harari's Insight
Trump Imposes Emergency Tariffs on Colombia Following Immigration Dispute
Musk and X Intensify Legal Battle Over Advertising Boycott, Suing Nestlé, LEGO, and Shell
Trump: Canada Should Become the 51st U.S. State
U.S. President Trump Asserts Intent to Reclaim Panama Canal Amid Rising Geopolitical Tensions
Panama Rules Out Negotiations With US Over Control of Canal
The 'Chinese Pearl Harbor' on U.S. Tech: DeepSeek's Launch Triggers Market Collapse
Key Takeaways from the 2025 World Economic Forum in Davos
The Trump Era 2: A Time of Dramatic and Profound Change
Five Billionaires on Track to Break One Trillion Dollar Wealth Barrier
Bill Ackman Praises Social Media Platform X as 'The New Media'
California Wildfires Set to Become Costliest in U.S. History
Chief Justice Roberts Warns Against Threats to Judicial Independence
Generation Z Faces Scrutiny Over Workplace Readiness
Democrats Call on Biden to Protect Controversial Temporary Protected Status Program
Trinidad and Tobago Declares State of Emergency as Murder Rates Surge
Migrant Children Abandoned at U.S.-Mexico Border
The Closure of the Global Engagement Center: Controversy, Claims, and Conclusions
×