News Corp to sell off NZ Sky stake
Sky put its shares in a trading halt while Deutsche Bank and Craigs Investment Partners managed the sale of the $700 million share parcel on behalf of News Corp to institutional and retail investors.
"Sky is a world-class subscription television business and has been an outstanding investment," said News Corp's chief operating officer, Chase Carey.
"We and Sky have always enjoyed an excellent, arms-length working relationship and we expect this to continue unaffected by the sale. In particular, we do not anticipate any change to current arrangements regarding access to content and collaboration on technology."
A spokeswoman for Sky said the media group had close dealings with News Corp before it became a shareholder and the same would be true in the future.
"We don't expect any impact to content deals," she said.
At an investment conference last week News Corp executive James Murdoch said that in the past couple of years the company had sought to simplify the operating model of the business by either "consolidating minority positions" or "buying out of other minority positions".
He referred to the impending split as an example of this process.
"We think it just makes a much simpler environment, both from an operational standpoint, but also to align the operations with shareholders much more straightforwardly," he said.
Last year News Corp spent $2 billion acquiring Consolidated Media Holdings, which helped lift its stake in pay TV provider Foxtel to 50 per cent. It will be the only TV asset to stay with the publishing business after the split, which will comprise its Australian operation, News Ltd, the British and US newspapers and book publisher HarperCollins.
The move is seen as an attempt to protect News Corp's more valuable film and broadcast assets from the hacking scandal engulfing its newspapers in Britain.
Last month, the company increased its stake in German pay TV operator Sky Deutschland, giving it majority control.
Mr Murdoch referred to the aborted attempt to acquire the remainder of UK pay TV provider BSkyB - which was called off due to the phone hacking scandal - as "unfinished business".
The company also is looking to build a national US sports cable network to compete with Disney's ESPN, people familiar with the matter have said. With Bloomberg
Frequently Asked Questions about this Article…
News Corp confirmed it is selling its 44% stake in New Zealand pay-TV provider Sky Network Television. The company put a $700 million parcel of Sky shares on the market as it prepares to split into separate publishing and broadcast businesses.
The share parcel being sold is worth about $700 million. Deutsche Bank and Craigs Investment Partners managed the sale on behalf of News Corp, and Sky put its shares into a trading halt while the offer was conducted for institutional and retail investors.
According to News Corp's chief operating officer Chase Carey and a Sky spokeswoman, they do not expect any change to current arrangements around access to content or collaboration on technology. Sky said it doesn't expect any impact to content deals.
News Corp executives say the company has been simplifying its operating model by consolidating or selling minority positions. The sale of the Sky stake is part of that process as News Corp prepares a split into separate publishing and broadcast businesses to create a simpler operating and shareholder alignment.
Last year News Corp spent $2 billion to acquire Consolidated Media Holdings, lifting its stake in Foxtel to 50% — Foxtel will remain the only TV asset in the publishing business after the split. The company also recently increased its stake in German pay-TV operator Sky Deutschland to secure majority control.
The article says the corporate split is seen as an attempt to protect News Corp's valuable film and broadcast assets from the hacking scandal afflicting its British newspapers. It also notes the aborted attempt to acquire the remainder of UK pay-TV provider BSkyB was called off because of the phone‑hacking scandal, which James Murdoch described as 'unfinished business.'
Investors should note News Corp is simplifying its portfolio and aligning operations with shareholders by consolidating or selling minority stakes. Such moves can change the company's risk profile and focus — for example, keeping certain TV assets with the publishing arm while scaling other broadcast holdings — which may affect future earnings and strategic direction.
Yes — the article says News Corp is looking to build a national US sports cable network to compete with Disney's ESPN, according to people familiar with the matter.
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