GE representative said it held "exploratory discussions" with London-based Pearson about combining GE's CNBC business news cable channel, Pearson's Financial Times newspaper and Dow Jones, which publishes The Wall Street Journal, Barron's and Dow Jones Newswires, but decided not to proceed.

Pearson's CEO Marjorie Scardino on the other hand in a note to Financial Times that given News Corp.'s interest in Dow Jones and Thomson Corp.'s suspended deal to acquire Reuters Group PLC, Pearson had "kicked around some ideas" about merging CNBC, the FT and Dow Jones, but "didn't see that combination stacking up for our shareholders."

Murdoch has offered Dow Jones $60 a share, which is too high price to be bet by other bidders Murdoch, who is the founder of News Corp. a media conglomerate that spans the globe, was intended to acquire the Journal for a long period of time. By getting the control over Dow Jones, Murdoch would be able to start a financial cable news channel, which might compete with CNBC.

A union that represents Dow Jones employees and a former Dow Jones board member say that they are concerned about the Journal's quality under Murdoch, and that he would use the paper for his business interests. Murdoch says those concerns are unjustified.

Dow Jones' board said Wednesday that it would take the lead in discussing "all aspects" of Murdoch's bid, including maintaining the Journal's independence. This could accelerate Dow Jones' negotiations with News Corp.

Dow Jones, however, has fallen behind such competitors as Reuters, Thomson and Bloomberg LP in delivering real-time financial data and information to investors.

HISTORY
Dow Jones & Company, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol DJ, publishes the world's most vital business and financial news and information. Since 1882, the Dow Jones name has been synonymous with accuracy, integrity and trust.

Founded by Edward Davis Jones, Charles Henry Dow and Charles Milford Bergstresser, Dow Jones has been the benchmark by which other business- and financial-news organizations measure themselves.

The cornerstone of Dow Jones is its flagship publication, The Wall Street Journal, which also happens to be the world's leading business publication. The Journal, which was founded in 1889, has a current circulation of nearly 2.1 million.

Dow Jones is an organization of more than 7,000 full-time employees, dedicated to pursuing excellence in all of the Company's operations. - Alla Harutyunyan for HULIQ.COM