NBC & Microsoft Take Look at Dow Jones, Then Pass

By: E&P Staff Executives at General Electric's NBC unit and Microsoft discussed a joint bid for Dow Jones that might compete with Rupert Murdoch's $5 billion offer -- but the two companies could not reach an agreement, according to reports today in The New York Times and DJ's Wall Street Journal.

GE and Microsoft talked about a rival $60-per-share offer to the Bancroft family last week.

Microsoft and NBC were partners in forming MSNBC.

But after preliminary discussions and a closer look, the execs decided against going further. ?Mainly, the economics just didn?t make sense,? one source told the Times.

The Times added: "Another person close to the two companies said they abandoned their plans after they could not see a way to make a purchase of Dow Jones at a price equal to or higher than Mr. Murdoch?s."