Leading pay TV business Foxtel and US media giant Liberty Global have reportedly agreed a price of A$1.9bn (US$1.96bn), or A$1.49 (US$1.54) per share, for Foxtel to take over satellite and cable television provider Austar.
US media company Liberty Global…
Leading pay TV business Foxtel and US media giant Liberty Global have reportedly agreed a price of A$1.9bn (US$1.96bn), or A$1.49 (US$1.54) per share, for Foxtel to take over satellite and cable television provider Austar.
US media company Liberty Global holds a 54% stake in Austar.
Foxtel is owned by Telstra (50%), media giant News Corp (25%) and local investor Consolidated Media (25%).
For the six months to 31 December 2010, Foxtel posted EBIDTA of A$278m (US$289m), a 17% increase on the first half of the previous financial year. Its revenue was A$1.07bn (US$1.12bn), a 9% increase on the A$989m (US$1.02bn) reported in the previous corresponding year.
Foxtel is looking to raise A$1.2bn (US$1.24bn) in loans to fund the deal, according to reports.
But Austar was quoted saying that it had checked with Liberty Global and claimed that the information was uninformed and inaccurate, and that there had been no agreement between Foxtel and Liberty Global.
Liberty recently announced that it would buy Germany’s third largest cableco Kabel BW for E3.16bn.
The US company may also be interested in KDG, Germany’s biggest cable company, as well as in Dutch cable Ziggo, suggesting an effort to re-focus on the European cable market.
Wholesale telecom services provider Vocus Communications placed 6.57 million new shares at A$2 (US$1.97) each to institutional, sophisticated and professional investors, raising A$13.1m (US$12.9m), to fund the company’s growth strategy. The transaction, arranged by Patersons Securities, is to be followed by a A$1.9m (US$1.87m) share buyback.
