Report: TEN shareholders divided on takeover
Bruce Gordon is not interested in selling his shares in TEN, while chatter about a sale increases.
- Published by David Knox
- on
- Filed under News
Speculation about the future owner of Network TEN continues to fascinate observers.
Fairfax reports WIN Corporation owner Bruce Gordon will not sell his 14.9 per cent stake, saying he believed the broadcaster could turn around its flagging fortunes.
James Packer and Lachlan Murdoch are understood to be willing sellers, while Gina Rinehart declined to reveal her intentions.
On Monday The Australian Financial Review published a letter from Time Warner senior vice-president James Burston to its adviser Citi expressing an interest in a $680 million takeover bid.
The letter said any bid would be made by Time’s cable division, Turner Broadcasting System, and would require the support of high-profile TEN investors.
But Bermuda-based billionaire Bruce Gordon said on Monday that “I passionately believe that TEN should still stay as an Australian-owner operation.
“It should not be sold to any of these giant US pay-TV setups.
“We are definitely not a seller. We want to stay [a shareholder] and look to the future.”
Meanwhile Discovery Communications is also exploring a joint bid with Foxtel. AFR reports private equity firms Providence Equity Partners and Hellman & Friedman are considering making offers. Hedge fund Anchorage Capital is believed to be considering its options.
On Thursday TEN presents its 2015 Upfronts to advertisers and media.
Read more: smh.com.au, AFR.com.au
7 Responses
Bruce Gordon could benefit if he sticks at it. The other Billionares already have done what they wanted they cant do much more. Network TEN needs to be taken over. The only time they did well when they were owned by a foreign entity last time it was CanWest Global Communications before it went out of business. Now it could be TimeWarner or TBS. It could mean a change in Output deals to. if the take over goes ahead it could mean TEN will have a output deal with WarnerBros and the FOX deal could end. Hoping it goes through.
Just googled Bermuda, to see where it is. It’s so out in the middle of nowhere, I thought the google map had a glitch, with just the name on a light-coloured background.
Bruce Gordon has always been part of the problem. He has nothing to offer Ten as he ran an affiliate business with little original content and few ideas. He owned Crawfords in the end and saw it fastly fade. Can’t he just move on and watch the sunset in his Bermuda tax haven? Many would be grateful.
Gordon sold STW9 and NWS9 to Nine as Nine’s offer was good to refuse. There was no reason that “Gordon had to sell his Perth and Adelaide stations to Nine”.
@joey69 – Bruce Gordon lives in Bermuda. WIN Corporation, an Australian company, is based in Wollongong, NSW. I don’t see that “he bases his company in Bermuda to minimize his tax”.
@MHA – Where would TEN find the money to buy Southern Cross TEN, if indeed SCT wanted to sell? Would Bruce Gordon sell WIN to Nine? Would Nine want to borrow that much to buy?
@joey69
Firstly Gordon doesn’t have a controlling interest in Ten. Secondly Ten operating in the metropolitan market while Win operates in the regional market.
Gordon’s main reason for investing in Ten was because he wrongly believed it couldn’t go any lower and it would put pressure on Nine in negotiations with Win for affiliations and mergers. In the end though Gordon had to sell his Perth and Adelaide stations to Nine.
A bit rich from Bruce Gordon that he wants to keep TEN ” a Australian company” when he bases his company in Bermuda to minimize his tax. Go figure that out! Gordon relationship with TEN has always baffled me, how can he be on the board of TEN yet still be a major beneficiary of Nine affiliation fees through WIN .
The sooner the 75% audience reach rule for commercial networks is abolished the better. As it stands, TEN is now effectively at a stalemate ownership wise with Bruce Gordon able to block with his 14.9% stake. The further this analogue era regulation stays as law, the sooner TEN could end up totally falling over and going off air for good. The Federal Government really needs to bite the bullet and not wait for industry consensus, so as to enable to continuation of three commercial networks (four if you include SBS which already has 100% audience reach).