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It was long held that to buy Dow Jones (and its Wall Street Journal property) a buyer would have to hit a mythical number above $60 a share called the Hammer Price (named after a longtime Bancroft family lawyer who years ago turned away offers from the Washington Post and New York Times for being too low)

In May, when Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. launched a friendly takeover attempt, they hit that number (and offering it represented a 65 percent premium over the April 30th closing price for the stock).  By legend, it should have been enough to close a deal.   Legend wasn’t reality.   In an up and down roller coaster of on-again, off-again reports, as recently as yesterday, it was looking like even the Hammer Price wouldn’t be enough to take control of the historic media property. Now it’s looking like the tides have changed again.

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Hearst Corporation is largely known for its collection of magazines and newspapers which includes titles ranging from Esquire and Cosmopolitan to O to the San Francisco Chronicle but the company is also one of the worlds largest diversified media companies.  In addition to its print properties, Hearst has vast media holdings including stakes in television channels, Television networks including ESPN and A&E Networks and significant Internet properties and investments.

Today, Hearst announced UGO Networks (aka Underground Online) will join the list.  UGO will be acquired by Hearst’s Interactive Media division.  While the division has been an active investor in a number of Internet properties (Brightcove, Pandora, iVillage) this will be one of its first outright purchases of a large property.

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In May, private equity firm Terra Firma put forward a bid to buyout and privatize "Big Four" music label EMI.  That bid was supported by EMI’s board but has been slow to gain shareholder approval amidst anticipation of rival bids from either Warner Music or a partnership assembled by former EMI CEO Jim Fifield.  (As of Tuesday Terra Firma said it had secured only 3.82% of shareholder approval for its $4.88b (GBP2.4b) bid for EMI Group, according to published reports)

The UK Takeover Panel, which oversees and regulates these transactions, set today as the put up, or walkaway, deadline for counteroffers.  It was extended from July 12.

With the deadline looming, and a bidding war not materializing, it’s looking like the deal with Terra Firma will go through after all.

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It’s a green light for Yahoo’s purchase of advertising auction company Right Media.  Today, the FTC waiting period expired with a request for more information.

Under the terms of the Hart Scott Rodino Antitrust Act (HSR), companies are required to give regulators a 30 day window to request further information.  The expiration of the waiting period absent further inquiry means there will be no further anti-trust review.   Legally the transaction is deemed to have satisfied the requirements of the Act.

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Every year, the celebrities and power brokers of big business converge on Sun Valley, Idaho for the pinnacle of exclusive schmooze and booze deal making conferences. Investment banker Herb Allen’s five day event is legendary.  This year, it began officially on Wednesday, under the scenic skies of the mountain resort town.

Guests with the privilege of attending include such heavyweights of media and technology as Rupert Murdoch (News Corp), Robert Iger of Disney, Jerry Yang and Terry Semel from Yahoo, Warren Buffet, Steve Ballmer, Bill Gates and others.  Also on the guest list are the folks from a number of high profile, high-buzz startups including representatives from IPTV player Joost, from news aggregator Digg, from Facebook, even newly funded Ning.

Between golf, meetings and private events,  among the crowd, ideas are circulated by the pine trees or the pools. In the boardroom or lounges, strategies and business cards are exchanged. Partnerships are contemplated. 

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To date, Elevation Partners has been relatively slow in the deployment of their $1.9b private equity fund.   That may be changing.  Today, Elevation announced its second deal in as many months.

The media convergence focused private equity firm whose cofounders include Silicon Valley icon Roger McNamee and global icon,  U2 singer Bono, announced an agreement to buy the SDI Media Group from fellow private equity firm Warburg Pincus (which acquired SDI in 2004)

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After a month of rumors, it was officially confirmed Monday that Google is acquiring consumer telephony/internet integration company Grand Central Communications.  Official terms have not been disclosed but widespread speculation is that the price was surprisingly high; above $50m.  That’s hard to believe, improbable seeming but not impossible.  Reports are the  two year old company had raised approximately $4m in venture funding from investors including Micro Ventures.

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