New York Times Won't Go Way of Dow Jones

"In this environment, the dual-class structure will no longer be able to shelter companies that are performing badly," says Richard Dorfman, managing director with Richard Alan Inc., a financial advisory and investment firm focused on the media industry.

"It doesn't matter what the law says. If a huge offer is on the table, there's no way a small minority of controlling shareholders can keep a huge majority of public shareholders from reaping a bonanza," he adds.

In this setting, News Corp. (NWS Quote) CEO Rupert Murdoch appears to have cut through Dow Jones' corporate structure with a $5 billion buyout offer, a lofty valuation that looks way out of reach for a newspaper publisher in today's market. While Dow Jones' controlling family, the Bancrofts, initially resisted the bid, they're now capitulating in acknowledgment of the publisher's weakness.

Shares of New York Times have jumped 13% since Murdoch's offer was made public May 1. But at Times, no Murdoch-like offer is on the table, and while the publisher enjoys the brand of world's newspaper of record, there is no evidence that such any buyout bid looms.

The former CEO of General Electric (GE Quote), Jack Welch, has expressed an interest in buying The Boston Globe -- New York Times' worst-performing asset -- and the former CEO of AIG (AIG Quote), Hank Greenberg, reportedly approached others about cobbling together a bid. So far, nothing has come to fruition.