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Ten admins acted illegally, court told

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 19 & 26 : 13-Sep-17

The legality of KordaMentha’s decision to endorse CBS Corporation’s acquisition of Ten Network rather than the offer of Lachlan Murdoch and Bruce Gordon has been questioned in court. Lawyers acting for Gordon argued that it is up to Ten’s creditors and their advisers to assess the merits of competing bids and chose the best one, rather than the administrator. Meanwhile, KordaMentha has released a supplementary report to creditors in response to claims by Gordon that its first report lacked sufficient detail.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, KORDA MENTHA AND COLLEAGUES PTY LTD, CBS CORPORATION, BIRKETU PTY LTD, ILLYRIA PTY LTD, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, ONE NATION PARTY, SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES

Consumers put value before price: P&G

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 12-Sep-17

Procter & Gamble’s MD for Australia and New Zealand, Antoine Brun, claims that Australian consumers are not as interested in price promotions as some retailers in the $A90 billion food and grocery sector seem to think. He says retailers need to reduce their discounting "message", and instead focus more on product quality and innovation. Brun notes that extensive discounting discourages product innovation. Procter & Gamble’s brands include Oral B, Duracell and Gillette.

CORPORATES
PROCTER AND GAMBLE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, PROCTER AND GAMBLE COMPANY, CHEMIST WAREHOUSE, PRICELINE PHARMACY, IRI

Murdoch-Gordon Ten bid details aired

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 12-Sep-17

KordaMentha has released the deed of company arrangement for CBS Corporation’s proposed acquisition of the Ten Network. It is included in a supplementary report to Ten’s creditors, in which the administrator outlines the reasons for its decision to recommend selling Ten to CBS rather than rival bidders Bruce Gordon and Lachlan Murdoch. KordaMentha notes that both itself and Ten’s receivers had concluded that the CBS deal would provide a better outcome for creditors.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, CBS CORPORATION, KORDA MENTHA AND COLLEAGUES PTY LTD, ILLYRIA PTY LTD, BIRKETU PTY LTD, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED

Fifield close to reform breakthrough

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 24 : 11-Sep-17

Communications Minister Mitch Fifield is believed to be close to securing a deal for the Nick Xenophon Team to support cross-media ownership reforms in the Senate. Fifield held negotiations with NXT senators ahead of Senate debate on the media reform bill on 11 September. The Government hopes to end the impasse which followed its rejection of NXT’s original proposal regarding tax breaks for smaller media companies. The media reforms require the support of a majority of cross-benchers.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), NETFLIX INCORPORATED, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED

CBS set for windfall on Ten’s tax credits

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 24 : 11-Sep-17

­KordaMentha’s report on Ten Network shows that the collapsed broadcaster’s unrecorded tax ­losses of $A58.9m could be utilised by CBS Corporation if it gains full ownership. The tax-loss credits could potentially enable CBS to book large profits before it becomes liable to pay any tax on Ten’s earnings. CBS requires approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board to acquire Ten, while businessmen Bruce Gordon and Lachlan Murdoch are seeking a court ruling that KordaMentha’s creditors’ report lacked sufficient detail.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, CBS CORPORATION, KORDA MENTHA AND COLLEAGUES PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED

TV networks seek clarity over postal survey ads

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 5 : 8-Sep-17

Free TV Australia wants the Australian Communications & Media Authority to provide advertisers with clarification regarding the rules on broadcasting ads with political content during the postal plebiscite on same-sex marriage. This follows a recent controversy over the lobby group’s move to ban a Father’s Day ad because its lack of a "political authorisation" tag was a breach of broadcasting rules.

CORPORATES
FREE TV AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA AUTHORITY, DADS4KIDS

Gordon takes round one in Ten legal bout

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 8-Sep-17

The Supreme Court of New South Wales has granted an application by WIN Corporation owner Bruce Gordon to have the second meeting of Ten Network creditors delayed by a week. This will allow the court to hear claims by Gordon, Lachlan Murdoch and 21st Century Fox that a creditors’ report by administrator KordaMentha lacked sufficient detail. This hearing is scheduled for 12 September, while the second meeting of creditors is now slated for 19 September. In other developments, the Australian Share­holders’ Association has ruled out participating in a class action regarding Ten’s collapse.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIAN SHAREHOLDERS’ ASSOCIATION, CBS CORPORATION, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, BAKER AND McKENZIE, ATANASKOVIC HARTNELL CORPORATE SERVICES PTY LTD, ALLEN AND OVERY, DENTONS, CORRS CHAMBERS WESTGARTH, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Media reform in days: Xenophon

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 8-Sep-17

The Federal Government is continuing to negotiate with the Nick Xenophon Team in a bid to secure support for cross-media ownership reforms. The talks are centred on financial assistance for smaller media companies, with the NXT open to scaling back its proposed tax breaks for such companies. The Government in turn is believed to have proposed offering grants or tax offsets to smaller publishers. It is also negotiating with the Greens, whose proposals include a content fund for local TV production.

CORPORATES
NICK XENOPHON TEAM, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), ONE NATION PARTY, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, BUZZFEED PTY LTD

WIN headed to court over Ten creditor report

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 19 : 7-Sep-17

Ten Network administrator KordaMentha has issued a statement asserting that its creditors’ report is "comprehensive and compliant". The firm has rejected a request to delay the second meeting of creditors, prompting WIN Corporation to seek a court ruling in the Supreme Court of New South Wales. Lachlan Murdoch, 21st Century Fox and WIN owner Bruce Gordon claim that the KordaMentha report lacks sufficient information for Ten’s creditors to decide whether to support the network’s sale to CBS. The creditors’ meeting is scheduled to be held on 12 September.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, KORDA MENTHA AND COLLEAGUES PTY LTD, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, CBS CORPORATION, SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES, ATANASKOVIC HARTNELL CORPORATE SERVICES PTY LTD, BAKER AND McKENZIE, DENTONS, ILLYRIA PTY LTD, BIRKETU PTY LTD, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, MOELIS AND COMPANY

Xenophon puts reform deal within reach

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Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 3 : 7-Sep-17

The Federal Government’s prospects of getting its cross-media ownership reforms through the upper house have been bolstered by further negotiations with the Nick Xenophon Team. Communications Minister Mitch Fifield has offered a compromise deal regarding the NXT’s push to provide tax breaks for smaller media companies. Senator Nick Xenophon is still pursuing the tax breaks, although he adds that there are other options for increasing media diversity and job opportunities for journalists.

CORPORATES
NICK XENOPHON TEAM, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY