MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS – NEW ZEALAND

Fairfax and NZME to hash out new merger terms

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 7-Mar-18

Fairfax Media hopes to successfully challenge the New Zealand Commerce Commission’s decision to block the proposed merger of its NZ business with NZME. The two companies will appeal against a court ruling which upheld the Commerce Commission’s May 2017 decision to block the deal on competition grounds. However, Fairfax and NZME have terminated a September 2016 merger implementation agreement, and they will negotiate a new deal if their appeal succeeds.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, STUFF LIMITED, NZME LIMITED – ASX NZM, NEW ZEALAND. COMMERCE COMMISSION, HIGH COURT OF NEW ZEALAND

Fairfax and NZME fight for merger

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 24 : 6-Feb-18

NZME says an appeal against the High Court of New Zealand’s decision to block a proposed merger with Fairfax NZ will focus on the court’s assessment of the deal’s impact on media plurality. The court upheld the NZ Commerce Commission’s decision in May 2017 to block the deal, although NZME notes that the court found that the merger would have more quantifiable net benefits to the public than had been estimated by the NZCC. Fairfax Media will also challenge the court’s decision.

CORPORATES
NZME LIMITED – ASX NZM, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, FAIRFAX NEW ZEALAND LIMITED, NEW ZEALAND. COMMERCE COMMISSION, HIGH COURT OF NEW ZEALAND

Fairfax’s NZ arm a shadow of old self

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Original article by Daniel Palmer
The Australian – Page: 16 : 13-Jan-17

The New Zealand division of Fairfax Media has posted a loss of $NZ95.3m for 2015-16, compared with a profit of $NZ21.9m in 2014-15. The latest financial result was marred by an impairment charge of $NZ106.8m, which included an additional writedown of $NZ66.8m in the value of its mastheads. The Commerce Commission is slated to make a final ruling on Fairfax NZ’s proposed merger with NZME in April, although it signalled in a draft determination that it is likely to block the deal.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, FAIRFAX NEW ZEALAND LIMITED, NZME LIMITED – ASX NZM, APN NEWS AND MEDIA LIMITED – ASX APN, NEW ZEALAND. COMMERCE COMMISSION, NEW ZEALAND. COMPANIES OFFICE

Fairfax sells NZ assets for $200m

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Original article by Jake Mitchell, Daniel Palmer
The Australian – Page: 21 : 8-Sep-16

Australian-listed Fairfax Media will have a 41 per cent stake in NZME if a deal to sell its New Zealand media assets to the APN News & Media spin-off proceeds. The proposed deal is worth $A200m in total, including a cash payment of $NZ55m ($A53.5m). It must be approved by shareholders and New Zealand’s competition regulator, which is slated to issue a draft determination in November 2016 and a final decision in March 2017.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NZME LIMITED – ASX NZM, APN NEWS AND MEDIA LIMITED – ASX APN, NEW ZEALAND. COMMERCE COMMISSION, THE RADIO NETWORK, GRABONE

Watchdog outlines Fairfax-APN concerns

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Original article by Jake Mitchell, Daniel Palmer
The Australian – Page: 21 : 15-Jun-16

The New Zealand Commerce Commission has released a statement of preliminary issues regarding the proposed merger of the NZ businesses of Fairfax Media and APN News & Media. APN CEO Ciaran Davis recently expressed confidence that the regulator will recognise the need for local media companies to be able to compete with digital players such as Google. An independent expert’s report on the proposed merger between Vodafone NZ and Sky Network Television has also been released.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, APN NEWS AND MEDIA LIMITED – ASX APN, NEW ZEALAND. COMMERCE COMMISSION, NZME, SKY NETWORK TELEVISION LIMITED – ASX SKT, VODAFONE NEW ZEALAND LIMITED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, GRANT SAMUEL AND ASSOCIATES PTY LTD

NZ merger aims to create Kiwi BSkyB

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 22 : 10-Jun-16

The Australian shares of New Zealand-based Sky Network Television closed 20.5 per cent higher at $A5 on 9 June 2016, in response to a proposed merger with Vodafone NZ. Sky Network TV will hold a 51 per cent stake in the merged entity if the $NZ3.4bn ($A3.25bn) deal proceeds. The combined group would be similar to other so-called "triple play" providers such as BSkyB in the UK, offering pay-TV, broadband and telephone services. Macquarie notes that this may result in a lower customer churn rate.

CORPORATES
SKY NETWORK TELEVISION LIMITED – ASX SKT, VODAFONE NEW ZEALAND LIMITED, SKY PLC, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, COMCAST CORPORATION, PERPETUAL LIMITED – ASX PPT, LAZARD PTY LTD, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, SKY ITALIA SPA, SKY DEUTSCHLAND AG, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, NETFLIX INCORPORATED

APN, Fairfax fast track NZ news retreat

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Original article by Jake Mitchell
The Australian – Page: 19 & 22 : 12-May-16

APN News & Media has confirmed plans to dual-list its NZME business on the New Zealand and Australian sharemarkets, as well as a $A182m rights issue. APN has also advised that it is holding talks with rival Fairfax Media regarding a merger between NZME and the latter’s own New Zealand business. They aim to complete any such merger by the end of 2016, although it may face opposition from the NZ Commerce Commission.

CORPORATES
APN NEWS AND MEDIA LIMITED – ASX APN, NZME, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NEW ZEALAND. COMMERCE COMMISSION, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, MACQUARIE SECURITIES PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD