Crown sale fans Fairfax rumours
In a notice filed with the exchange on Christmas Eve, Mr Alexander revealed he sold about 249,500 Crown shares on December 19.
The move lends weight to speculation Mr Alexander, a long-time lieutenant to the Packer dynasty, is to return to the organisation where he began his career, Fairfax Media, as a director or chairman of the board.
Mr Alexander's sale came on the same day as Crown chairman James Packer waded into the market, beginning a two-day buying spree that pushed his stake in the company from 48.09 per cent to 50.01 per cent, according to Bloomberg data.
Mr Packer, who announced his move on December 20, spent $144.5 million to buy 13.9 million shares through his companies Consolidated Press Holdings and Cairnton Holdings.
Creep provisions in Australian law allow Mr Packer to increase his shareholding by up to 3 per cent every six months without launching a takeover bid for the company.
He recently completed his exit from the media business run by his late father Kerry, selling his remaining stake in Consolidated Media to News Ltd for $2 billion last month.
Mr Alexander has played down talk he is set to return to Fairfax, owner of The Age, telling The Australian last month he had held "zero conversations with anybody at Fairfax". But he added: "I can't say what will happen in the future. I'd be open to looking at anything. I have an open mind."
Crown shares rose 6¢ on Thursday to close at $10.56.
Frequently Asked Questions about this Article…
John Alexander is a non-executive director of Crown. According to a notice filed on Christmas Eve, he sold about 249,500 Crown shares on December 19 — roughly half his holding — and reaped about $2.56 million from the sale.
The article says Alexander's sale lent weight to speculation that he might return to Fairfax Media (owner of The Age) as a director or chairman, since Fairfax was where he began his career. Alexander has denied holding any talks with Fairfax but said he has "an open mind" about the future.
James Packer began a two-day buying spree that, according to Bloomberg data cited in the article, increased his stake in Crown from 48.09% to 50.01%. He spent $144.5 million to buy about 13.9 million shares through Consolidated Press Holdings and Cairnton Holdings.
The article explains that creep provisions in Australian law allow a major shareholder like James Packer to increase his stake by up to 3% every six months without launching a formal takeover bid, enabling gradual increases in control.
Crown shares rose 6 cents on the Thursday referenced in the article, closing at $10.56, after the market activity involving John Alexander's sale and James Packer's purchases.
No. The article does not report any formal takeover bid. It notes James Packer has increased his stake to 50.01% and explains creep provisions that permit incremental stake increases, but it does not describe a launched takeover offer.
The article reports that Packer recently completed his exit from the media business run by his late father Kerry, selling his remaining stake in Consolidated Media to News Ltd for $2 billion last month.
Alexander told The Australian he had held "zero conversations with anybody at Fairfax," but added, "I can't say what will happen in the future. I'd be open to looking at anything. I have an open mind," according to the article.
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