News Corp dumps NZME stake at 11% discount

Friday 7th October 2016

Australian media giant News Corp has quit its stake in local media group NZME at a deep discount.

The publishing arm of the Murdoch family's media empire sold its entire 14.9 percent stake in the New Zealand firm, which wants to merge with its biggest rival Fairfax New Zealand, News spokeswoman Liz Deegan confirmed to BusinessDesk. NZX data show 13 million of News's 29.4 million dual-listed NZME shares sold at 67.8 cents on the New Zealand market today for an aggregate $8.8 million, an 11 percent discount to yesterday's closing price.

The Australian Financial Review's Street Talk column today reported the shares were sold at 64 Australian cents, less than the 70.5 cents ASX close yesterday, with the A$20 million block trade handled by Citigroup and Forsyth Barr.

News inherited the NZME stake as part of the New Zealand unit's demerger from APN News & Media, which it bought into when Ireland's Independent News & Media quit the Australasian company. News went on to buy APN's Australian regional newspaper division, though the timeline for that deal has been delayed after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission sought comment on the transaction.

NZME shares fell 4 percent to 73 cents on the NZX, and were down 4 percent to 67.7 Australian cents on the ASX.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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