Seven West Media buys Prime stake after takeover fails
Seven West Media has bought a cornerstone 14.9pc stake in Prime after its $64m takeover offer was formally rejected.
Kerry Stokes-controlled Seven West Media has bought a cornerstone 14.9 per cent stake in Prime Media Group after its $64 million takeover offer failed.
Just hours after the unsuccessful Prime shareholder vote on Thursday morning, the television broadcaster disclosed it has acquired 54.6m shares in Prime from Spheria Asset Management, in exchange for the issue of 30 million new shares in Seven. As a result, Seven is now Prime's biggest shareholder.
Seven chief executive James Warburton said the investment in Prime will "provide stability for the business, to support regional Australia and regional news".
“While we’re disappointed with the outcome of today’s vote, we remain committed to Prime,” said Mr Warburton, who took over the helm mid-August.
“As Prime itself has said, the business is under pressure to meet regional Australia’s needs and today’s outcome is an unfortunate result for them and their shareholders.
"We look forward to continuing our longstanding relationship with Prime, delivering outstanding content for them in 2020."
Seven’s acquisition of Prime was halted as a result of staunch opposition from Prime's major shareholders, Antony Catalano and Bruce Gordon.
Mr Gordon has voting power of 11.59 per cent in Prime, while Mr Catalano has built up a 14.57 per cent stake, giving them a combined 26.16 per cent stake with which to block Seven’s bid.
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