By SARAH ELLISON and MATTHEW KARNITSCHNIG
The Wall Street Journal Online

German Publishing Heir Cites News Corp. Deal; Net Falls 27% on Charges

Dieter von Holtzbrinck, an heir to a German publishing empire, resigned from Dow Jones & Co.’s board of directors to protest the board’s decision to endorse a [tag]$5 billion offer from News Corp.
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“Although I’m convinced that News Corp. offer is very generous in financial terms,” he wrote in a letter to directors Thursday, “I’m very worried that Dow Jones unique journalistic values will long-term strongly suffer after the proposed sale.”

Mr. von Holtzbrinck abstained from a board vote endorsing News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch’s offer Tuesday evening, a vote that put the future of Dow Jones in the hands of the Bancroft family, who control 64% of the company’s shareholder voting power. The vote was otherwise unanimous except for two of the four board members representing the family, but the family is divided on the News Corp. offer.

Mr. von Holtzbrinck’s resignation is mostly of symbolic importance: If the deal goes through, he wouldn’t be a board member any more. It nevertheless could resonate with the Bancrofts as the family prepares to convene next week to vote on the sale and perhaps sever its century-long connection to Dow Jones and its flagship paper, The Wall Street Journal.

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