British financial magazine, The Business, reported today that after months of speculation, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. has succeeded with a $5 billion bid for Dow Jones, owners of The Wall Street Journal. However, Dow Jones has denied that the deal has been finalized, calling The Business' story incorrect, as reported in Editor & Publisher.

While the executive board of Dow Jones has completed its negotiations, the deal ultimately seems to hinge on majority stakeholders, the Bancroft family, agreeing to the terms of the deal. The family's concerns about retaining The Wall Street Journal's editorial integrity has been cited as the potential stumbling block throughout negotiations, though other sources report the family's attempts to start a bidding war as the holdup.  

Steve Yount, president of the union local that represents Dow Jones employees, told Editor & Publisher, "There's no deal until the [Bancroft] family signs off, and they haven't. It seems to me that the board has always been more interested than the family in doing a deal with News Corp."

If the deal goes through, News Corp. will take over The Wall Street Journal, as well as Dow Jones Newswires and Barron's. It has been reported that under the negotiated terms, Murdoch's company would have the ability to hire and fire the top editors and publishers, but an independent committee would have the right to veto those decisions: a move seen as protecting the editorial independence of The Wall Street Journal after the Murdoch takeover.

A formal announcement on the deal is expected next week.