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SYDNEY - Rupert Murdoch's News Corp said today it has sold its 7.5 per cent stake in Australian newspaper publisher John Fairfax Holdings Ltd.
"Yes, we have sold all our shares in Fairfax," a Sydney-based News Corp spokesman said.
A parcel of 75 million shares valued at A$381 million ($429.8 million) was sold to institutional investors by Goldman Sachs JBWere earlier today at A$5.07 per share, sources familiar with the transaction told Reuters.
Fairfax shares fell 2.9 per cent to A$5.12 at 0052 GMT.
News Corp bought the stock at A$5.20 a share in October last year ahead of a change in Australia's media ownership laws but said at the time the stake was not a precursor to a takeover for Fairfax.
A source familiar with the situation said News made a profit on the transaction in US dollar terms following a sharp rise in the Australian dollar and the payment of a fully franked dividend since its purchase.
The Fairfax stock was valued at US$3.95 when it bought and US$4.16 when it sold, the source said.
Fairfax had been considered one of the most likely media takeover targets in Australia because of its open share register.
It bid A$2.8 billion for regional media group Rural Press last year to strengthen against a possible bid. Seven Network Ltd also bought a stake in the publisher.
News Corp last week it had made a US$5 billion bid to buy Dow Jones & Co, publisher of the Wall Street Journal.
- REUTERS
