Ten Network in Talks to Secure Foxtel as an Investor

   By Robb M. Stewart 
 

MELBOURNE, Australia--Australian broadcaster Foxtel may be poised to buy a stake in Ten Network Holdings Ltd. (TEN.AU), one of the country's top free-to-air broadcasters.

Ten said in a statement Monday that as part of an ongoing strategic review it was in discussions with Foxtel about the terms on which it might potentially become an investor.

Foxtel is equally owned by telecommunications company Telstra Corp. (TLS.AU) and News Corp. (NWS), which also owns Dow Jones & Co., the publisher of The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires.

The Australian Financial Review earlier Monday reported that Foxtel was close to agreeing a deal to take a 14.9% stake in Ten, injecting about 85 million Australian dollars (US$66.47 million) at 18 cents a share.

Ten, whose shows include the Australian versions of "MasterChef" and "The Bachelor," said that discussions with Foxtel were one component of its strategic review. It disclosed no further details on the talks.

The company, which is due to release its first-half results on Thursday, in early December said that strategic adviser Citigroup was fielding nonbinding proposals from a number of unnamed parties interesting in buying control of Ten or refinancing its debt. Citigroup was appointed by the company in November after months of speculation that Ten was a takeover target.

Ten counts a number of wealthy investors among its shareholders, including mining-industry billionaire Gina Rinehart, gambling tycoon James Packer and media-industry personalities Lachlan Murdoch and Bruce Gordon.

Like its free-to-air peers, Ten has struggled with weak advertising markets lately but continues to attract large numbers of viewers each day.

Write to Robb M. Stewart at [e-mail]

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