M&A

12 November, 2009

Dow Jones close to selling stake in Stoxx- WSJ

Nov 12 (Reuters) - News Corp's (NWSA.O) Dow Jones & Co is close to selling its interest in the Stoxx Ltd stock-indexing business for $309 million, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Stoxx Ltd is a joint venture between Deutsche Boerse (DB1Gn.DE), Dow Jones and SIX Swiss Exchange.

The Journal said Deutsche Boerse and SIX Group will each control half of Stoxx in the reorganised venture, with a slight majority control being held by the German stock exchange.

Under the new structure, Dow Jones will receive an "earn-out," allowing it to earn as much as $44 million if the business performs well, according to the paper.

A deal may be announced as early as later on Thursday, the paper said, citing people familiar with the matter. Dow Jones could not be immediately reached for comment outside regular U.S. business hours. (Reporting by Ajay Kamalakaran in Bangalore)

Source: http://www.reuters.com