News Corp's Dow bid now faltering

The Bancroft family has controlled Dow Jones for more than 100 years

Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation has admitted it is now "highly unlikely" it will proceed with its $5bn (£2.5bn) offer for the Dow Jones media group.

It said this was because of the reported present level of opposition from the Bancroft family, which owns 64% of Dow Jones' voting shares.

With the Bancrofts expected to make a statement later on Tuesday, reports say less than a third are backing the deal.

The news came as Brad Greenspan said he had financial support for a rival bid.

Mr Greenspan, the founder of the MySpace social network, said he had now gained the backing of five investor groups interested in buying a stake in Dow Jones to thwart News Corp's bid.

Editorial assurances

The Bancroft family said last week that it had held "very productive" talks with News Corp, and the bid had also gained the backing of the Dow Jones' board.

News Corp first tabled its bid for Dow Jones on 1 May.

The Dow Jones' main newspaper title is the Wall Street Journal.

Rupert Murdoch has promised to maintain the Wall Street Journal's editorial independence if News Corp's bid is successful.