As it prepares for its expected December acquisition by News Corp., Dow Jones & Co. reported revenues jumped nearly 20 percent in the third quarter to $493 million, thanks to a 50 percent acquisition of Factivia.

Without the acquisition, revenue would have increased only about 1.8 percent, as print advertising continued to decline in the quarter. Excluding a comparison to 2006's high earnings per share due to a major tax gain that year, as well as a charge for costs relating to the upcoming merger, Dow Jones also saw earnings of $23.1 million, or $0.27 per share – that's a 145 percent increase from third quarter 2006, when profit was at $9.4 million and $0.11 per share, paidContent reported Thursday.

Share increases are also beyond the Thomson Financial survey estimate of $0.22.

Online advertising saw minimal increases for the quarter, with ad revenue growth of 7.8 percent. However, Dow Jones executives have said they expect growth to climb back into the 20 percent range by the fourth quarter, closing out the year at an average in the mid to high teens, paidContent reported.

Dow Jones's flagship paper, the Wall Street Journal, saw online paid subscriptions grow 25.5 percent from last year, ending the third quarter at 989,000.