Fairfax and Macquarie Media look at Southern Cross

3Jul07

Fairfax Media and Macquarie Media Group are believed to be close to preparing a bid for Southern Cross Broadcasting, according to sources close to the deal.

Under the terms of the deal, Fairfax would gain control of Southern Cross’s metropolitan radio assets, including Sydney’s 2UE, Melbourne’s 3AW, Brisbane’s 4BC and Perth’s 6PR, production house Southern Star, and possibly Satellite Music Australia, who provides subscription music services to companies including Foxtel and Austar.

Macquarie Media would get Southern Cross’s regional television stations, including its Southern Cross Ten network, and its Seven Network affiliated stations in Tasmania, South Australia, Darwin and satellite, says The Australian.

While Macquarie has long been interested in Southern Cross, currently holding a 15% stake in the company, the Fairfax Media involvement is been considered a more recent development.

Southern Cross shares are on a trading halt pending an announcement to the market either on or before Wednesday. The company is currently worth $16.44 a share, valuing it at $1.19 billion dollars, following some volatile trading following the retirement announcement of 2UE’s John Laws last week.

The company reported a net profit of $31.6 million for the half year to December 31, up 9.6 percent on the corresponding half, on flat total revenue of $287.4 million.

Source: Media Spy

Popularity: 1%