NEW YORK, 2 August 2007 — Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch won control of Dow Jones & Co. and its flagship business newspaper The Wall Street Journal, in a $5 billion takeover expected to shake up the US media landscape, the companies confirmed yesterday. The acquisition of one of the country’s most prestigious newspapers comes after three months of intense negotiations and tough talks between Murdoch’s News Corp., Dow Jones and the divided Bancroft family, which has controlled Dow Jones and the Journal for over a century.

The deal was sealed after members of the Bancroft family and trustees — representing about 37 percent of the company’s shareholder vote — chose to back the sale, the two companies said.

In an apparent concession by Murdoch, a five-member committee will be charged with “assuring the continued journalistic and editorial integrity and independence of Dow Jones’ publications and services,” the companies said in a statement early yesterday.

Some Bancroft family members, echoing the worries of journalists at the Journal, had voiced concerns the takeover would undermine the newspaper’s editorial independence.

The final decision in which some family members backed the deal came only “after much soul-searching, hard work and analysis,” the Bancrofts said in a statement. “It is our most fervent hope that in the years to come, The Wall Street Journal will continue to enjoy, and deserve, the universal admiration and respect in which it is held all over the world,” the family said.

Murdoch expressed gratitude to the Bancroft family members who supported his offer and recognized “how difficult this decision was for some family members.”

He added: “I want to offer the Bancrofts my thanks, and an assurance that our company and my family will be equally strong custodians.”

Murdoch, 76, has built a vast media empire over the decades and is planning to expand his interests further on Oct. 15 with the launch of a News Corp. business news cable television channel, Fox Business Network, in the United States.

“The transaction will deliver significant returns to our shareholders,” said Richard Zannino, CEO of Dow Jones.