Ten bidding war begins with Time Warner lobbing a $680m bid
A bidding war for the struggling Network Ten appears to be on in earnest with Time Warner reported to have a floated a $680m takeover bid.
The Financial Review reports Time Warner sent a letter on October 6 to Ten’s investment banking adviser Citi to “express our interest in pursuing a possible acquisition” of the free-to-air network.
Time Warner’s offer values the company at around $680m, or around 25 cents a share, and comes ahead of a meeting between Ten management and a consortium consisting of Discovery and Foxtel who are set to discuss a rival bid on Wednesday.
The AFR reports the opening bid is specified as not binding and “only intended to facilitate further discussions with you”, while The Australian also a carries a report downplaying the chances of a Discovery/Foxtel bid noting Ten’s major shareholders would want to receive “full value” for their shareholding.
Amusing. One has to wonder whether this is TW twisting the tail of Old Rupe. They know he regards Oz as his personal patch. But then again he did make an outlandish takeover offer for them. What fun!
The bylines tell a story too.
This is going to be interesting to watch. How can LM be impartial as a major shareholder of Ten but also Co-Chair of Newscorp?
By asking for more for Ten shareholders he would be seen to be working against Newscorp, by pressuring anyone to take a Newscorp offer below where the shares were 3-4 years ago he will be seen as abandoning any informal obligation to Ten shareholders he has. LM may be okay with taking a bath on Ten as it’s chump change for him but not sure everyone else will.
Boy it’s lucky he resigned as Chairman a while back and made Hamish Chair and CEO
Well let’s hope the Time Warner bid succeeds. Ten will get capital and a completely new board and CEO. And then they can replace ALL the senior management. If it doesn’t get a complete clean out this business will not get a chance to succeed. Going the Foxtel route is problematic with regulators and still carries the young Murdoch legacy. Nine and Seven’s share prices will become wobbly if Time Warner can achieve incremental improvement in advertising and audience share. I hope it is all done quickly.
If this deal comes off, I wonder what ramifications it will have on the current TW content deal with Nine
Wonder if they will get Tim Worner to run it?
Mike “Wonder if they will get Tim Worner to run it?”
If so will he change his name to Time?
whatever happens and whoever buys controlling interest, get rid of that entire management team. Based on performance and the obscene salaries they are getting paid, bring in TV people who know what consumers want, not an agency head who has done nothing in his time there.
So much for the supposed ‘expertise’ Gina Rinehart was going to bring to Channel Ten. It is this same ‘expertise’ that right-wing warriors were pushing as a reason she should have been given a seat on the Fairfax board.
Anyone that knows Tim Worner and I do, what logical reason would he have to go to a basket case. Yeah $ but read 7’s annual report we would all like what he gets and deserves.
@ sceptic – he would run it because then it’d be funny that he’d be Tim Worner from Time Warner.
if that’s not enough reason to leave the number 1 FTA company in AU and go to a risky turnaround basket case owned by a US media giant then I don’t know what is.
Would you bother buying a print title these days? Err no. Same goes for TV old business model on it’s way out.
@sceptic: It was only a moment of semantic synchronicity, not a serious suggestion or the start of a rumour! Sheesh…
Can’t wait to see if Murdoch’s Emprore gets TEN, and Australia finds itself pestered by a far-right rant-n-rave Fox News offering.
Imagine, if you can stand it, Allan Jones, Andrew Bolt, and any number of run-off-at-the-mouth rabble-rousers who prey on the body politic, turning it into the rotting carcass of democracy we see in the US of A.
You thought lizard emperor fundamentalist Abbott and evil-eye god-bothering Brandis were scary? Just you wait. The power of the rich looks set to brandish its evil self-interest on the national channel it looks likely to purchase.
UGH!