Sydney – Consolidated Media Holdings Limited (CMH) has announced that it has received a conditional and nonâ€binding proposal from News Limited (News) to acquire CMH at a price of US $3.50 cash per share by way of a scheme of arrangement on a CMH board – recommended basis (the Proposal).
If the acquisition goes through, the Rupert Murdoch-owned News Corp will own 50% of Foxtel, Australia’s largest Pay-TV business.
The proposal is subject to a number of conditions. These include News Corporation Board approval, Foreign Investment Review Board and Australian Competition and Consumer Commission approvals, there being no material adverse change to CMH’s business, News having a period to undertake due diligence on an exclusive basis and News being satisfied that it will have no post completion obligations in respect of certain CMH liabilities. News requires the ACCC and FIRB approvals and other conditions be satisfied prior to entering into a Scheme Implementation Deed.
The Board proposes to engage constructively with News in relation to the Proposal, including the details of the terms and conditions. The Board of CMH can give no assurance that the Proposal or any transaction will proceed. Were a transaction to proceed, it is unlikely to complete until the final quarter of calendar 2012.
