Experts say News Corp can get antitrust nod for Dow

By Peter Kaplan and Megan Davies

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - News Corp.'s proposal to buy Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones & Co. Inc. would be unlikely to face much opposition from U.S. antitrust and regulatory authorities, experts said on Tuesday.

However, if the offer draws a counterbid from direct rivals to Dow Jones, there could be more questions asked by authorities, experts said.

The bid from News Corp. for Dow is not a done deal, as a representative of the publisher's controlling shareholders said they would vote against the bid.

Some media and analysts speculated that a counterbid could come from organizations like Bloomberg LP, a newspaper company like the Washington Post Co. or New York Times Co., or CNBC-owner General Electric Co.. Bloomberg said there was no truth to speculation it may bid.

While a News Corp./Dow Jones combination would bring together two major media companies, the deal probably would not raise competition concerns because there is little overlap between their U.S. businesses, antitrust lawyers said.

"This should not raise antitrust issues," said Steve Axinn, senior partner with the firm Axinn Veltrop & Harkrider LLP.

News Corp.'s U.S. assets include the Fox television network, Fox News Channel, 20th Century Fox movie studios and the New York Post. Aside from the Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones assets include the MarketWatch Inc. financial Web site, Barron's financial weekly and Dow Jones Newswires.

Antitrust experts said the companies' major assets are, for the most part, in different markets and the combination would therefore not increase concentration in any particular market.

"I think any increase is minimal," said Bruce McDonald, a former Justice Department antitrust official with the law firm Jones Day.

RIVAL BIDS?

GE and Bloomberg are the two most likely alternative buyers of Dow Jones, said Lawrence Haverty, associate portfolio manager of the Gabelli Global Multimedia Trust, which has stakes in both News Corp. and Dow Jones.

GE would not have antitrust issues buying Dow Jones, he said, while the electronic news business was so competitive that a Bloomberg/Dow Jones combination would be unlikely to raise major issues.

But some experts thought that a proposal to buy Dow Jones by a direct electronic news competitor could raise concerns.

"There you have some issues," said an antitrust lawyer who declined to be named.

McDonald noted that authorities could permit a purchase by a general circulation newspaper like the Washington Post or New York Times based on the argument that they also are in a different market than the Wall Street Journal.