UPDATE: Austar Says Yet To Receive Any Offer From Foxtel
April 20 2011 - 1:54AM
Dow Jones News
Australian regional subscription television provider Austar
United Communications Ltd. (AUN.AU) said Wednesday it has yet to
receive a takeover offer after saying earlier this year rival
Foxtel had been in discussions with Austar's largest shareholder
about a possible bid.
"We will advise you if there's any change in that situation,"
Austar Chief Executive John Porter told a briefing for the
company's first-quarter results.
Austar said last month U.S-based Liberty Global Inc. (LBTYB),
which holds 55% of Austar, had held "verbal discussions" with
Foxtel about a possible acquisition.
Foxtel is 50%-owned by Australian telecommunications giant
Telstra Corp. (TLS.AU), with media companies News Corp. (NWS.AU)
and Consolidated Media Holdings Ltd. (CMJ.AU) each owning 25%. News
Corp. owns Dow Jones & Co., publisher of this newswire and The
Wall Street Journal.
While Austar said last month there was no assurance the
discussions would lead to a takeover bid, Royal Bank of Scotland
analyst Fraser McLeish said there was a reasonably high chance an
offer will emerge.
"If it doesn't happen now, it's never going to happen," he
said.
McLeish said Austar would be a strategic asset for Telstra as
part of its content-provider strategy and as regional broadband
Internet markets opened up with the roll out of Australia's
national high speed Internet network. Liberty Global would also be
attracted by the returns of a sale given the Australian dollar is
currently above parity against the U.S. dollar.
"The stars are aligned," McLeish said.
Porter said that, from his stand point, there was a "terminal
date" to the takeover speculation.
"We have strategic decisions to make. We need to get on with our
lives," he said.
Porter said he hoped the situation would "come to a head" in the
next two to six weeks.
A spokesman for Foxtel wasn't available for comment.
Austar reported a net profit of A$74 million for the three
months ended March 31, more than quadrupling the previous
corresponding period's result, largely because of a A$120 million
sale of spectrum to the Australian government-owned company rolling
out the national broadband network, NBN Co.
Customer numbers for the quarter fell 1.1% to 755,641 from the
previous quarter, largely because of devastating floods and
cyclones earlier in the year in regional Australia, or areas
outside the capital cities.
But Porter said that as the region recovered, so had Austar,
with record sales days in March.
-By Gavin Lower, Dow Jones Newswires; 61-3-9292-2095;
gavin.lower@dowjones.com
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