The firm confirmed a report in its daily business title The Wall Street Journal that it "would be prepared to approve, and recommend to the Dow Jones stockholders" the agreement, in a statement on its website.

The fate of the deal now rests with controlling shareholders in the Bancroft family, which holds 64 percent of the voting stocks in Dow Jones.

Amid reports of divisions within the family, the proposal is expected to be presented to the Bancrofts at a meeting on Thursday, though it could take more days before they make a decision on the deal, the newspaper said.

If it goes ahead, the deal could reshape the US media industry landscape and expand Murdoch's global media empire.

News Corp. said in a statement it was "grateful to the Board of Dow JonesCompany for its strong vote of support in favor of our offer to acquire Dow Jones."

The company said it was confident Dow Jones "will become an even more formidable and respected company" in combination with News Corp.'s "global content and distribution platforms."