Outspoken fund manager Geoff Wilson has castigated the board of Macquarie Media for supporting a below market takeover offer from majority shareholder Nine Entertainment Co that values the AM radio station owner at $275 million.
"I am extremely disappointed at the independent directors for recommending the bid at a 15 per cent discount to the share price,"Mr Wilson,who claims he holds a 4 per cent stake in Macquarie for clients of Wilson Asset Management."We’re reviewing all our options."
Nine has agreed to outlay $1.46 a share,or $113.9 million,for the remaining 45 per cent stake in Macquarie Media it doesn't own. Macquarie,which employs high profile presenters including Alan Jones and Ray Hadley,owns 2UE in Sydney,3AW in Melbourne,4BC in Brisbane and 6PR in Perth.
The board of Macquarie Media unanimously endorsed the deal,which still needs to be approved by the radio group's shareholders. Macquarie shares closed at $1.74 before the announcement,well above Nine's offer price.
The radio group's biggest shareholder is ad-man and pub mogul John Singleton,who owns 32 per cent of the company. He could not be reached for comment. Fellow shareholder and adviser Mark Carnegie did not respond to calls.
Sondal Bensan,an analyst for Pendal Group which owns 7.5 per cent of Nine,said he supported the offer,and the TV network had struck itself a bargain."On face value,they’ve paid a price that is a lot lower than what a lot of people thought,"Mr Bensan said. There were reports in 2019 that Mr Singleton wanted $2.50 a share for his stake.
"[The offer] is a fair bit below where it is trading,"Mr Bensan said."It’s a good deal. The combined group ... broadens out all the forms of media they’ve got that they can get synergy from a revenue perspective with wholly owned print,TV and now radio businesses."
Nine,parent company of theSydney Morning Herald andThe Age,obtained 54.4 per cent of Macquarie Media when it merged with Fairfax Media late last year. It is aiming to have the Macquarie deal wrapped up by December. Once Nine has support from enough shareholders to lift its stake to 90 per cent,the deal cannot be blocked.