The controlling family of Dow Jones, parent company of The Wall Street Journal, last night said it would reject a $5 billion (£2.5 billion) offer from News Corporation, parent company of The Times.

Members of the Bancroft family controlling just over 50 per cent of Dow Jones’s voting power, informed the financial publisher’s board of directors that it would ”vote against” News Corp’s approach, which was made in secret a fortnight ago.

Earlier, the board said that it had begun “evaluating the proposal” and it added last night that it would “factor (the family’s reaction) into its evaluation”.

News Corp’s $60 a share bid is priced at a level that Dow Jones shares have not hit since 2001. Yesterday, Dow Jones shares soared 58 per cent to reach $57.28, as Wall Street hoped for a change of control at the company. The Bancroft family, heirs of Clarence Barron who acquired it in 1902, control 64 per cent of Dow Jones’s voting rights.

Rupert Murdoch, the chairman and chief executive of News Corp, said: “There’s plenty of time, and we just take it calmly and hope they will take it calmly,” on the Fox News cable television channel.

He said: “It’s a generous offer, and we are the sort of people with the same traditions that I think would prove great guardians for the paper.”

Mr Murdoch wants to ensure that the approach is friendly to keep onside a family that has considered itself the guardian of the Journal’s heritage. However, News Corp is also bracing itself for an auction.

Times Recommends

• Lies and cover-up at MG Rover exposed by report
• High oil prices push manufacturing costs up
• Primark founder steps down as chief executive