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Tug of war as Murdoch, Gordon increase offer for TEN.

Lachlan Murdoch and Bruce Gordon up their offer to creditors from $35m to $55m for TEN.

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Lachlan Murdoch and Bruce Gordon have lodged a new bid for TEN, following the Senate passing legislation for media reforms.

Illyria and Birketu have increased their offer to creditors from $35 million to $55 million.

But the laws must still return to the House of Representatives in October to approve amendments before they can become law.

Under the new offer employees and continuing trade creditors would receive 100¢ in the dollar and all other creditors would get 5.75¢ in the dollar. Shareholders would keep 25% of their equity, with TEN to be relisted on the ASX. The revised bid is 72% higher for creditors than the proposed payment under the CBS bid.

CBS is the largest creditor of TEN and is owed $348 million. It will receive $20 million under the revised offer. CBS would have received $7.4 million under the original Birketu / Illyria offer.

It is unclear whether administrators KordaMentha will present the new offer to creditors at a meeting scheduled for Tuesday. Birketu is now insisting creditors are also given details of the new offer.

In the NSW Supreme Court this week lawyers for Gordon argued KordaMentha failed to give creditors adequate information about his joint bid with Murdoch.

Justice Ashley Black is due to hand down a judgment on Monday, a day before the rescheduled creditors meeting.

Source: Fairfax, News Corp

33 Responses

  2. If Murdoch and Gordon get their hands on Ten say bye bye Ten! CBS Would be great for the network with plenty of content and money + they know how to run a network

    1. Ten is a business, who ever buys it will be wanting to generate a return on capital. Under CBS it will look same. They will be free of the output deals cost and CBS will be supplying some US shows (that on All Access or covered by other deals e.g. with Stan) in exchange for taking all the profits. They still to compete in the same market and meet 55% local content and produce local drama to meet the quota. It’s pretty clear th

      From what has leaked Murdoch and Gordon are planning to asset strip Ten to make a short term profit to recoup some of their losses. They will contract out pretty much everything, increase deals with Foxtel and get 21C content cheap. Though that may be the most logical option for the 3rd broadcasting in a declining market.

      1. To be fair, that seemed to be pretty much their plan last time too. At least, until the only actual Australian-resident citizens in the group mistakenly thought “y’know, I bet what Australians really want is to see Andrew Bolt on television”…

  4. The whole mess was created by Murdoch and Gordon in the first place. It might have gone in their favour if they waited until the media laws were changed but they really stuffed it up. They can’t seriously be in the running agsin after the decision has already been made.

  5. If Murdoch wins then it’s all over for TEN, thousands will lose their jobs as rumoured Lachlan was going to end leases in Sydney, Melb & Adelaide. Murdoch has stuffed TEN the first day he stepped foot in the door.

  6. The way this is going David you’re going to have to add an extra tab to the top for news just on this, something like TEN Suitors News or something. On the otherside of it, if this keeps going on and on whoever ends up owning TEN will be able to make a mini-series about it all and we can relive it all over again.

  7. CBS was buying out Channel 10 a month ago.

    Doesn’t matter.. Colbert will never be on before James Corden (bleu?) and we’ll still be flooded with informercials.

  8. It does look like Gordon and Murdoch have got their way after all. Had they waited until the laws passed it would have saved some money. wouldn’t have had to go to court and CBS would not have been a factor. The question now is what will CBS do? will they walk away and sell their stake in Eleven Co. or will they stick around and keep things going pretty much the same before their takeover offer? If CBS still wanted to takeover a FTA network SevenWest Media is primed

    1. Yes, it’s all over for CBS thankfully. Hopefully they walk away peacefully and do the right thing and hand TEN and all the multichannels over to Gordon and Murdoch. It is the best outcome I think, for the staff and the country.

      1. And what part of Murdoch and Gordon wanting not to renew leases on channel 10 buildings in sydney, melbourne and adelaide do u not understand. How could that in any way be good for the staff. I hope the cbs deal goes ahead and I agree with somebody else on this site, that you seem to be the only one not wanting the cbs deal for some strange reason

      2. I don’t think a Murdoch Gordon owned TEN would be best for the staff.. they remember what it was like working for Murdoch and things took a turn for the worst. Also, how would it be best when it came out only days ago that they wanted to shut the studios in Pyrmont etc..

      3. Ten only ended up in receivership because of Gordon and Murdoch at the top. What makes anyone think that they are suitable custodians for the network in the future. And I can’t imagine many staff too enthusiastic about a Murdoch/Gordon takeover, either, given the job losses and cuts to infrastructure that’s planned.

    2. Packer had pulled out and they would have had to fund a new $250m guarantee of credit from the Commonwealth Bank themselves to keep Ten going until the end of the year, (if media reform laws were passed by then). They decided to save money by pulling the pin early, gambling that nobody else would outbid them. They were almost right, everyone except CBS pulled out after looking at Ten’s books.

  10. The extra money to shareholders mostly goes to B. Gordon and L. Murdoch and his friend J. Packer. The extra money to creditors goes mostly to 21C Fox (which L. Murdoch is Executive Chairman of) and CBS. More spin than substance.

  12. No surprise, The CBS deal was done and dusted the minute those antiquated laws were killed. The Gordon-Murdoch deal is now even better than before and the Administrators and creditors would be stupid to reject it. Goodbye CBS, hello new fresh Australian owners for TEN. Most Aussies would support this.

    4. “Most Aussies would support this.” You seem to be the only person here that supports it! Is every other reader of this fine blog just a lefty troll that suckles at the teat of the ABC? Oh, and if this goes through I can’t wait for Network Ten to be owned by that guy that spkits his time between here and the US and that other guy that lives in Bermuda….
      This is really starting to sound like a broken record though. I guess I’ll keep my “fake news” to myself….

    5. You sure you aren’t L.Murdoch posting under a different name? It’s over and it has slipped from your fingers. Ten is gone. Perhaps look for some more cash and buy Channel 9.

    7. You don’t speak for me or other Australian thank you , your anti American attitude has been noted, CBS would be a great owner , why would you give the network back to the people that crippled it in the first place , some positive comment would be appreciated from you though ….

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