Dow Jones

Guide Note

Dow Jones is a financial information and publishing company in the United States. In 2007, Dow Jones was acquired by News Corp. in a $5.6 billion deal. Previously controlled by the Bancroft Family, Dow Jones investors approved the deal and the company was sold. Dow Jones premier asset is The Wall Street Journal.

Fast Facts

1. Founded: 1882
2. Founded by three reporters: Charles Dow, Edward Jones, and Charles Bergstresser
3. January 2005: Dow Jones purchased MarketWatch, a popular financial website among retail investors
4. Revenue: $1.783 billion
5. Headquarters: New York City
6. Parent: News Corp.

Products

1. The Wall Street Journal
2. Barron's Magazine
3. Dow Jones Newswires
4. Dow Jones Indexes
5. Dow Jones Financial Information Services
6. Factiva
7. Far Eastern Economic Review
8. MarketWatch
9. SmartMoney
10. Vedomosti
11. FiLife

In 2007, Dow Jones was acquired by News Corp. for $5.6 billion at $60 a share. The company was previously owned by the Bancroft Family for more than a century. Some media analysts feared that the takeover by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. would hurt the independence of The Wall Street Journal, but Murdoch promised that the editorial board of the paper would still have independence in decision-making.