Seven West Media, Bauer, delay completion of Pacific Magazines deal
Seven West Media and Bauer have extended the completion date of their $40m magazine deal, amid legal action over the sale.
Seven West Media and Bauer Media have called a temporary ceasefire by agreeing to extend the completion date of their $40m magazine deal to May 1, a day after the Kerry Stokes-controlled media group disclosed it had started legal action against the Germany-family owned magazine publisher.
Seven announced the sale of its Pacific Magazines division to Bauer last October.
The deal was scheduled to be completed on Thursday, but Seven said the two parties had agreed to a revised completion date of May 1. It added "all other terms of sale are unchanged".
Seven noted the extended date is "not materially adverse” as Pacific receives the April revenues, equal to five weeks.
The group's second announcement in two days to the ASX was authorised by Seven chief executive James Warburton.
Seven started court proceedings in the NSW Supreme Court on Tuesday to compel the magazine publisher to complete the deal.
Seven’s legal move comes as Bauer’s future in Australia remains under a cloud, with the publisher understood to be considering exiting the market, which it entered in 2012 by acquiring Kerry Packer’s ACP Magazines for $500m. Bauer has hired accounting and advisory firm EY to help with its strategic review.
Bauer has remained tight-lipped on its Pacific Magazines plans since the deal was given the green light by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission on March 26, with chief executive Brendon Hill not returning calls seeking comment.
Kerry Stokes’ son Ryan Stokes, who is chief executive of Seven Group, expects the magazine deal to go ahead.
"We anticipate that. I think our position has been pretty public on that, so I won't comment any more that was has been said from James and the team," he told The Australian on Wednesday.
Industrial, mining and energy conglomerate Seven Group owns a 41 per cent stake in the Sydney-based media company.
Pacific Magazines’ departing chief Gereurd Roberts is understood to have emailed staff on Wednesday about the court action, telling them that the sale might go through as planned on Thursday. But if it did not, they would be at Pacific for another four to six weeks.
More Coverage
BBC apologises to staff over Russell Brand sex complaints
Some employees had stayed silent about the behaviour of the comedian and actor because they believed he ‘would always get his way’, a BBC director said.
Questions about ABC platforming ‘radical fringe Jewish voice’
Jewish groups have questioned why the national broadcaster has chosen to platform and ‘mainstream’ a Jewish ‘radical fringe voice’, in its coverage of anti-Semitic events in Sydney.