TEN to press Packer on conflict of interest
TEN directors are likely to seek undertakings from James Packer that his Pay TV interests are not allowed to conflict with his $280 million investment.
- Published by David Knox
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The Australian reports today that TEN directors are likely to seek undertakings from James Packer that his Pay TV interests are not allowed to conflict with his $280 million investment in their network.
Sources close to the Board indicated Packer, who is expected to meet TEN executive chairman Nick Falloon this week, would be asked how he would deal with potential conflicts between his 18 per cent stake in TEN and pay-TV investments.
Packer owns 49.67% of Consolidated Media Holdings which owns 25% of Foxtel and 50% of FOX Sports. Seven and Nine are both part owners of SKY News.
“There needs to be some discussion about how this could clash with his other interests,” one source said. “The board’s main role at this point is to protect the interests of minority shareholders.”
Packer is said to be is concerned about TEN’s cost base, management structure, multi-channel strategy, additional hour of news from 6pm, and is expected to press for a return to a low-cost strategy focused on a younger viewer demographic.
But a TEN source said the fragmenting television market meant “that returning to a lean and mean TEN was not possible”.
Meanwhile the ACCC is looking into whether Packer’s sharemarket raid of 18% raises competition concerns.
Source: The Australian
3 Responses
What about the conflict of interest with “hey, let’s kill off ONE and make it Sky news” ? Surely he’d not do that to drive people back to pay TV for the sports ONE has been showing at all, would he?
If Packer can’t buy in to Ten because it is anti-competitive then Seven should be made to sell it’s shares in Consolidated and the West Australian.
This great businessman has lost 1/3 ($ 3 Billion) of what his father left him, just over the past few years.