Michael Bloomberg, owner of the eponymous global news and data service, is keen on acquiring the Wall Street Journal's publisher Dow Jones & Co or The Washington Post, which is run by fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos, the Axios news portal reported on Friday
NEW YORK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd December, 2022) Michael Bloomberg, owner of the eponymous global news and data service, is keen on acquiring the Wall Street Journal's publisher Dow Jones & Co or The Washington Post, which is run by fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos, the Axios news portal reported on Friday.
The 80-year-old Bloomberg is close to Rupert Murdoch, owner of the Dow Jones parent company News Corp, and is on friendly terms with Bezos, the report said.
Of the two, Dow Jones - which publishes financial titles such as The Wall Street Journal, Barron's and MarketWatch - would be a stronger target for Bloomberg, the report said.
Bloomberg wants to expand his $10 billion media empire and a Dow Jones deal would give him access to a premiere business title that could be leveraged to sell more subscriptions to the Bloomberg Terminal, a real-time data, news and analysis platform for financial professionals, the report said.
The combination of Bloomberg and Dow Jones would create an unparalleled business news behemoth, the report said.
Bloomberg has, however, not yet approached Murdoch to voice his interest nor has he begun to engage any official third parties to evaluate a likely deal, the report said.
A spokesperson for the Washington Post pointed out that the publication was not for sale, the report said.
Bloomberg has a history of acquiring professional news companies and folding them into its media strategy, the report said, suggesting that a deal could still be brokered.
News Corp's investors may prefer a spin-off of different parts of its business - either its real estate platform or Dow Jones - to unlock value for them, the report added.
