Todd sells out Sky TV stake for $218m

Todd Communications has sold its 11.1pc stake in Sky TV for $218m. Photo / Sarah Ivey

Todd Communications, part of the privately owned Todd Corp, has agreed to sell its 11.1 per cent stake in Sky Network Television for $218 million, ending a 22-year tie up with the listed pay-TV operator controlled by News Ltd as it rotates capital into new ventures.

Todd Communications sold the 43.2 million shares at $5.05 apiece, a 5.8 per cent discount to their trading price yesterday. The agreement is dated November 1 and is expected to settle on November 8, when Todd will file a notice of ceasing to be a substantial holder of the company. The shares fell 4.3 per cent to $5.13 in trading today.

Former Todd Capital managing director Robert Bryden has been deputy chairman of Sky TV since 2001 and a director since 1990. He retired from Todd Capital in September 2011.

A spokesman for Todd declined to comment on the motivation for the deal. Sky TV chief executive said Todd has said it was "capital rotation" and he wouldn't be surprised to see a new Todd investment emerge in coming months.

"I thanked them for all their support over the years," Fellet told BusinessDesk. The Todds had been invested in Sky TV longer than he had run the company.

The Todds are among New Zealand's richest families. The group appeared on the register in 1997 following Sky's initial public offering. Sky Network Television as it is known today was created in 2005 when Sky merged with INL and Todd increased its stake.

First NZ Capital Securities, the local affiliate of Credit Suisse, disclosed a 5.5 per cent interest in Sky TV, partly reflecting its role as a sub-underwriter of a sale of shares by Todd Communications and partly because of shares held by its Harbour Asset Management unit, it said in a separate statement.

Shares of Sky TV are up 1.3 per cent this year. The stock is rated 'hold' based on a Reuters poll of 10 recommendations, with a price target of $5.275.

This story has been corrected from a previous version, which referred to Sky TV being controlled by BSkyB rather than News Ltd.