Dow Jones deal just about done

NEW YORK (CNN) -- The boards of both Dow Jones & Co. and News Corp. have approved a $5 billion deal that would put The Wall Street Journal in the hands of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, the Journal reported in its online edition late Tuesday.

The paper also reported that the Bancroft family, which holds a 64% voting stake in Dow Jones, has agreed to the sale. The Journal said the two companies are expected to sign a merger agreement and issue statements in the next few hours.

News Corp.'s board of directors approved the deal to buy Dow Jones after a meeting Tuesday night, an anonymous source with knowledge of the News Corp. board meeting's outcome tells CNN.

This comes as no surprise, as media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, the chief executive of News Corp (Charts, Fortune 500)., has been in pursuit of Dow Jones (Charts) and approached the company for a merger.

Dow Jones's board of directors approved the $60 per share bid by News Corp. earlier this month. However, Murdoch's bid was met with resistance from the Bancroft family, the holders of the controlling stake of Dow Jones.

The Journal, the highly regarded national newspaper under the umbrella of Dow Jones, reported Tuesday that enough members of the Bancroft family supported the News Corp. bid in order for the deal to be sealed.

CNN's calls to the Bancroft family spokesman were not returned Tuesday

Of great concern to those involved is the impact Murdoch and News Corp. will have on reporting done by Dow Jones publications.

Independent Association of Publishers' Employees, the union representing Wall Street Journal, WSJ.com, and Dow Jones newswires writers and reporters, released a statement saying union members were "disappointed with the apparent decision by key Bancroft family members to support the sale of Dow Jones & Company to News Corp."

"We were heartened that several prominent Bancroft family members remain opposed to the sale on the grounds that it will irreparably damage the quality and independence of The Wall Street Journal and all Dow Jones publications," the statement read.

The Dow Jones board of directors was expected to meet Tuesday night after the financial markets closed, a Dow Jones spokesman told CNN.

When that board met earlier this month to discuss the News Corp. bid, it approved the sale.

At that time, News Corp. released the following statement -- "News Corporation and its Board of Directors are grateful to the Board of Dow Jones & Company for its strong vote of support in favor of our offer to acquire Dow Jones for $60 per share."

News Corp. is a media conglomerate company that includes Fox News Channel, Fox Entertainment, The New York Post, Sky News in the United Kingdom, and other media worldwide. As of March, total assets for News Corp. totaled $62 billion, according to the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Dow Jones owns Factiva, Dow Jones Indexes, Barron's, MarketWatch and other financial information-related units including the Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones newswires.

Murdoch's bid for Dow Jones has boosted the stock price significantly. Prior to the bid Dow Jones stock traded around $35 per share and the stock closed Tuesday at $57.38 per share.

-- CNN's Richard Davis contributed to this report.