In July 2007, News Corp. entered into an agreement to purchase all of the outstanding shares of Dow Jones and Company for $60 per share. Immediately prior to the News Corp. bid, the shares of Dow Jones traded at $33 per share. The number of outstanding shares at the time of the announcement was 82 million. The book value of interest-bearing liabilities on the balance sheet of Dow Jones was $1.46 billion.
a. Estimate the cost of this acquisition to the shareholders of NewsCorp.
b. What value did News Corp. place on the control of Dow Jones and Company?