New York, May 2:

The media mogul Rupert Murdoch is seeking to add the world’s most influential business newspaper to his News Corporation empire through a $5 billion takeover offer for the Wall Street Journal’s publisher, Dow Jones.

His surprise $60-a-share offer could spark a bid battle for one of America’s hottest media properties. The New York Times and the Washington Post have previously expressed interest in buying Dow Jones which is controlled by a wealthy dynasty, the Bancroft family. The offer, made privately in a letter to the Bancrofts two weeks ago, was almost double the prevailing market price for Dow Jones’ shares and the stock rocketed by 51 percent to $54.84 on the New York Stock Exchange when news of the proposal leaked.

In a statement, Dow Jones confirmed that it had received an ‘unsolicited’ proposal: “The board of directors and members and trustees of the Bancroft family, who hold shares representing a majority of the company’svoting power, are evaluating the proposal.” If successful, the deal will turn News Corp into a global leader in financial news, diversifying far beyond its traditional strength in mainstream news and entertainment. The company’s Fox television network is already due to launch a 24-hour business channel.

In addition to the Journal, Dow Jones would bring a newswire service, the we-ekly magazine Barron’s, the online intelligence provider Factiva and a data firm that compiles America’s Dow Jones stock market average.

Staff at the Journal reacted with dismay. Steven Yaunt, president of the in-house Independent Association of Publishers’ Employees, said, “The quality and reputation of the Wall Street Journal is, in part, built on its unquestioned independence. It is still a family-owned company and there is a reason for that — it gives us independence.”

“The prospect of a buyout by News Corp would not be good for it, its employees or for the people who rely on the Journal for information.” Founded in 1889, the Wall Street Journal has a circulation of 2.1 million, second only to USA Today among American newspapers. But Dow Jones’s CEO Rich Zannino, has come under fire from shareholders over po-orly performing acquisitio-ns, a weak share price and his $4.1 million pay package.

Some suggested that Mu-rdoch’s interest could be co-nnected to the launch of his Fox business channel.