GE, Pearson not interested in joint Dow Jones bid

0 Comments | AFP, June, 2007

NEW YORK (AFP) — US conglomerate General Electric said Thursday that it would not be teaming up with Britain's Pearson in a possible takeover bid for media group Dow Jones, owner of The Wall Street Journal.

The announcement came as Dow Jones Co. is trying to fend off a hostile five-billion-dollar takeover offer from Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.

GE and CNBC, the business television network of its NBC Universal subsidiary, recently held "exploratory" discussions with Pearson, the owner of the Financial Times newspaper, to study a possible combination with Dow Jones, GE said in a statement.

"Following these discussions, GE and Pearson have decided not to pursue this combination," it said.

"Pearson and NBC Universal continue to discuss cooperative...