Rupert Murdoch's News Corp has completed the $815.3 million sale of its stake in local pay-TV operator Sky Network Television.
The global media empire slated for a demerger along publishing and broadcasting lines later this year sold its 43.6 per cent stake in Sky TV at $4.80 a share in an underwritten placement to institutional investors. Sky TV today said the sale has been completed.
A trading halt on the shares put in place for the sale has now been lifted. The stock last changed hands at $5.17 on Friday.
Murdoch's exit from the pay-TV firm comes four months after New Zealand's billionaire Todd family sold its 11 per cent stake for $218 million at $5.05 a share. That was a discount of 5.8 per cent at the time. News took the cornerstone stake in Sky TV via a merger with Independent News Ltd in 2005.
The stock is rated an average 'outperform' based on nine analyst recommendations compiled by Reuters, with a median target price of $5.535.
