KEY POINTS:
PUBLISHING AND BROADCASTING LTD
Chief Executive, James Packer
PBL owns ACP New Zealand, which has about 40 per cent of the magazine sector here with titles including North and South, Metro, Woman's Day and Property Press. It used to operate TV channel Prime.
The death of Packer's father, media mogul Kerry Packer, has accelerated PBL's shift away from media to focus on casinos. to focus more on casinos.
MOVES SO FAR
James Packer kicked off the plays for media assets when he announced a deal with CVC Asia Pacific. PBL is splitting itsmedia assets - excluding a stake in pay TV system Foxtel - with CVC deliver $A5.5 billion most which many believe is aimed outside the media sector. On the other hand, Packer has said he is interested in Fairfax at the right price.
WHAT'S AT STAKE
PBL's Nine Network free-to-air channel is the grandfather of the Australian TV business but has been suffering under pressure from Kerry Packer's Seven Network. The company has a large magazine stable and other television production and distribution interests and a 25 per cent stake in Foxtel.
ISSUES
Any deal for PBL to buy Fairfax or APN would create market dominance issues on magazines. While ACP New Zealand is profitable, parent company PBL may have been burned with its inability to turn around Prime, leading to its dropping an option to buy the channel. Kiwi casino company SkyCity might be a more attractive takeover target than Fairfax or APN. The common view in Australia is that Packer is using the privatisation of his media assets as a way to pull back from media.
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CANWEST MEDIAWORKS NZ
Chief executive, Leonard Asper
Winnipeg-based CanWest holds 70 percent of publicly listed CanWest MediaWorks New Zealand and a 56 percent economic interest in Australia's Network Ten.
Kerry Stokes' Seven Media Group is believed to be eyeing the New Zealand operation and is likely to be interested in TV3.
MOVES SO FAR
CanWest Global has appointed Citibank Global Markets to examine its South Pacific interests. While this suggests a sale, the company has resisted selling out in the past. The Canadians recently sold their Irish channel TV3 and are looking at media acquisitions closer to home in North America, but the Irish operation was not as profitable as New Zealand is, or as Australia has been.
WHAT'S AT STAKE
Once the golden boy of Australian media, Network 10 has been down at heel due to ratings losses. CanWest MediaWorks' New Zealand interests include TV3 and C4 and five radio brands including More FM and The Breeze. Rupert Murdoch's News Limited has been linked to Ten, though Murdoch has played down the future for free-to-air television. CanWest's TV interests have made big strides during a tough period at TVNZ.
ISSUES
The big question is whether the New Zealand assets will be sold together with Ten as a job lot, and what happens to the 30 per cent public shareholding. Apart from Stokes, Rupert Murdoch-controlled Sky TV could target CanWest, having shown interest before in TV3. Would the Commerce Commission allow a Sky to buy TV3 in the same way it did with the much-smaller Prime?
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JOHN FAIRFAX & SONS
Chief executive David Kirk
Fairfax is often predicted to be swallowed in media ownership changes, partly because the company's open share register makes it easier to launch a takeover bid. But the company has a fierce reputation as a corporate player and has rejected such assertions. Fairfax chairman Ron Walker insists the company is a buyer, not a seller. .
MOVES SO FAR
Rupert Murdoch's Newscorp has taken a 7.5 stake in the company - within a stone's throw of the 10 per cent that would prevent a compulsory takeover by another party. Kerry Stokes' Seven Media and James Packer's PBL have acknowledged interest.
WHAT'S AT STAKE
Under the new brooms of Walker and Kirk, Fairfax is pushing aggressively into online media but it is largely an old media company whose main Australian interests are the Sydney Morning Herald and Melbourne The Age newspapers. Fairfax carries additional cachet as one of the pillars of the Australian financial establishment and some believe that emotional factor makes it a likely target. The March 2006 purchase of New Zealand auction website TradeMe has added to the importance of New Zealand assets. These include half of New Zealand's newspapers, with titles like The Sunday Star-Times, Dominion Post, Sunday News, The Press, The Waikato Times and some Auckland community newspapers. The Fairfax Magazines division includes Cuisine, House & Garden and TV Guide.
ISSUES
As with CanWest, the transtasman factor and the extraordinary level of cross media ownership in this country creates special issues. James Packer's PBL has indicated it is interested "at the right price" but one company owning ACP Magazines and Fairfax Magazines would have a big share of the New Zealand magazine market. Some commentators have suggested an option in any Fairfax sale might be to break away Fairfax New Zealand assets and sell them separately. The counter-argument is that Fairfax New Zealand is an efficient operation that delivers good returns and has a key role in the group. Excluding TradeMe, Fairfax New Zealand provides 35 per percent of operating profits for the group.
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INDEPENDENT NEWS AND MEDIA (APN News And Media)
Chief executive, Sir Anthony O'Reilly
Dublin based INM has a 41 per cent-stake in Sydney based APN News & Media, owner of the Herald.
MOVES SO FAR
O'Reilly was quick off the mark linking with US private equity firm Providence Equity Partners in a A$2.9 billion buyout that would cash-up INM for what it said was for acquisitions outside Australasia. The proposal fell over but APN is saying that the door is open for other proposals.
WHAT'S AT STAKE
APN has 50 per cent stake in the joint venture with the US radio giant Clear Channel Communications that in Australia controls the Mix and Classic Hits and regional radio radio. In New Zealand, APN owns half The Radio Network, which owns half the country's commercial stations including Newstalk ZB, Radio Sport and Classic Hits. Newspaper interests include 23 daily and 100 non-daily papers in both countries. The Herald is the biggest title and the stable includes the Herald on Sunday, Daily Post, Bay Of Plenty Times and the Aucklander and community newspapers in Wellington. Its magazines division owns The Listener and New Zealand Woman's Weekly. While its first attempt at a private equity deal was dropped - analysts say due to withdrawal by Providence - APN has said it will entertain other proposals. INM says it wants money for investment in the Northern hemisphere, but has not ruled out being a buyer down under.
ISSUES
APN's part in a duopoly for both newspapers and radio in New Zealand makes it more likely that any purchase of other transtasman media companies would create competition issues. One Australian media source said that both CanWest and APN had already had costs cut back extensively under the influence of northern hemisphere controlling shareholders.
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SEVEN MEDIA GROUP
Chief Executive, Kerry Stokes
Stokes has the lowest profile of the Australian media barons in this country but he has given the clearest interest yet that he is interested in the Kiwi media sector. Stokes has taken on a central role in the dog-eat-dog Australian batles among media moguls and has been on the ascendancy against the bigger Murdoch and Packer empires.
MOVES SO FAR
Seven has gone into private ownership in an A$4 billion deal with a US private equity giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and outside of the joint venture has taken a 14.9 per cent stake in publically-listed West Australian Newspapers.
WHAT'S AT STAKE
Stokes' New Zealand media interests have been limited to New Idea owned by his Pacific Magazines Division and while a big seller in Australia, it has had a topsy-turvy ride in the New Zealand magazine market. In Australia though, the Channel Seven free to air network has been challenging Packer's Nine as the most popular channel. It is also a partner in the Yahoo!7 internet portal. Stokes main interest is said to be Fairfax or West Australian newspapers in which he bought a 15 per cent stake. But the rules change has put CanWest on the market. It is understood that Stokes has TV3 in his sights.
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OTHER SIGNIFICANT PLAYERS
SKY TELEVISION
Sky has previously indicated it is interested in TV3. If it turned free-to-air channel Prime into a subscription channel it could dispel market dominance issues in advertising. But TV3 is much bigger than Prime and would likely face trenchant opposition from anti-Murdoch interests.
SKYCITY
t is on the outskirts of the media sector after purchase of cinema assets from Village.
RURAL PRESS
The company formed by a breakaway group of Fairfax family interest has expressed an interest in New Zealand assets of any Fairfax break-up.
MACQUARIE MEDIA GROUP
A sleeping giant in the lead up to the rule changes, Macquarie already has radio interests and is tipped to increase its 13 per cent stake in Southern Cross Broadcasting.
TELSTRA
The Australian telecommunications giant made an approach for Fairfax in 2003 and wants content to fill its distribution arm.
