From Internet Outsider
If so–and I assume they do–the rejection of the News Corp offer is going to get sticky.
$60 a share is a massive premium over Dow Jones’s average trading price over the past twenty years, and it is close to the stock’s all-time peak in the $70s back in 2000 (which was a bubble-related spike). Dow Jones shareholders have been awfully patient for an awfully long time, and however attached they may be to the company’s timeless and influential brands, they are also presumably focused on their bottom lines.
The Bancrofts’ rejection of Murdoch’s offer may be a negotiating move (why not?), but if Murdoch raises his offer–or even if he simply reiterates it–the family will likely take increasing heat from the other shareholders and board members. And as long as the "fiduciary duty" standard applies (which it may not–anyone know?), if the Bancrofts refuse to deal, they will presumably be opening themselves up to legal liability.