Principles and power

I read with pleasure your insightful interview with Uffe Ellemann-Jensen, chairman of the Founders Share Company [Principles and power: an inquiry].

Some context and background on Thomson’s bid for Reuters that was approved by Reuters’ board and trustees and announced on 15 May 2007: A source told me a few years ago that just as Reuters’ board was meeting to consider a vote on the offer, the meeting was interrupted with news that News Corp had launched a takeover bid for Dow Jones & Co. The Thomson vote was put aside momentarily as Reuters board members digested the news, its implication and the bid’s premium. The Dow Jones Industrial Average subsequently hit a peak of 14165 on 11 October 2007, before starting what became a 20 per cent two-year bear market slide. As both takeover deals cleared various anti-trust and other hurdles, including shareholder votes, another source told me Dow Jones managers kept looking to see if Thomson’s offer for Reuters would be revised down in price or delayed. It wasn’t, and neither was New Corp’s bid for DJ. Neither buyer blinked. The rest is media history. ■