KEY POINTS:
Independent adviser Northington Partners has assessed the fair market value of shares in MediaWorks at $2.36.
That compares with $2.68 a share being offered by HT Media, a subsidiary of Australian private equity company Ironbridge Capital, for the 17.4 per cent of shares it does not already own.
The offer is the second by HT Media after it bought 82.6 per cent of shares this year. That included HT Media buying the 70 per cent stake in MediaWorks owned by the company's Canadian parent CanWest Global Communications.
When announced, the first bid's share price was $2.43, then CanWest said it would be paying a special dividend of 10c a share, carrying tax credits of 4.9c a share.
That reduced the offer price by 10c to $2.33 a share.
David Jackson, chairman of MediaWorks' independent directors, said they unanimously recommended that shareholders accept the second HT Media offer.
On July 19 HT Media entered into a lock-up agreement with Brook Asset Management for Brook to sell its MediaWorks stake of about 8.7 per cent into the offer.
That would take HT Media's shareholding to about 91.3 per cent, enabling it to compulsorily buy the remainder.
Shares closed yesterday at $2.65.
- NZPA
