News Corp. bids for Consolidated Media
News Corp. has bid 1.94 billion Australian dollars (U.S.$2.01 billion) for Australia's Consolidated Media Holdings Ltd., according to a report in the Wall Street Journal, which is owned by News Corp.
The offer, A$3.45 a share, was lower than News Corp.'s June non-binding proposal of A$3.50 a share, the report noted.
News Corp. and Consolidated Media each owns 25% of Foxtel, Australia's largest pay-TV company; telecommunications company Telstra Corp. owns the rest, the article said.
Most of Consolidated Media's directors recommended that shareholders accept the bid. Australian casino mogul James Packer, whose Consolidated Press Holdings owns 50% of the company, will vote in favor, the Journal article said.
But Seven Group Holdings Ltd., which owns 25% of the company, may oppose the deal. Seven Group has asked Australian authorities to consider whether it could buy the shares in Consolidated Media it doesn't already own, the Journal article said. According to the report, analysts see Seven Group's request to the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission "as a tactic either to extract a sweetened bid from News Corp. or to deliver a deal on sports-broadcasting rights." (Source: Wall Street Journal, Sept. 10, 2012.)
Posted Monday, September 10, 2012 • Permalink
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