Murdoch Losing on Dow Jones Makes BSkyB More Costly: Real M&A

News Corp.’s shareholders have lost $25 billion since Rupert Murdoch offered 14.6 times Dow Jones & Co.’s profit to buy the Wall Street Journal. Now, the billionaire is poised to spend as much as 17 times earnings for British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc.

News Corp. won approval from the U.K. yesterday for its bid to purchase the 61 percent of Britain’s biggest pay-television operator it doesn’t already own. Murdoch, who offered 700 pence ($11.41) a share for BSkyB in June, may have to spend as much as 1,000 pence to close the deal, Citigroup Inc. said. The 75 percent premium to BSkyB’s 20-day average before the original offer would be the most for a Murdoch purchase and more expensive than the 70 percent premium for Dow Jones, owner of the Wall Street Journal, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.