DOW JONES SHARES TAKE 3% HIT

Dow Jones & Co.’s stock price dropped yesterday as investors fretted that the media company’s controlling shareholders might reject News Corp.’s $5 billion bid for the company.

The Bancroft family, which control Dow Jones through super-voting shares, met with its advisors on Monday in Boston to consider the $60-a-share offer.

Sources say it’s too close to call whether the family will vote to accept the bid from News Corp., which owns The Post.

A decision is expected early next week, said one person familiar with the matter.

Shares of Dow Jones, which owns The Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch and Barron’s, fell more than 3 percent yesterday to $52.99 a share.

A number of the roughly three dozen adult family members remain opposed to the bid because of concerns that News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch might tamper with the Journal’s editorial independence.

But other family members are eager to accept the offer, which is at a 67 percent premium to where Dow Jones’ shares were trading before news of the bid came out May 1.

The Bancrofts have a 25 percent economic interest in Dow Jones but control 64 percent of the voting power through special shares.

If they reject the offer, Dow Jones’ shares could drop back down to the mid-$30s.

News Corp.’s shares slipped 35 cents to close at $24.02.