This is a great point @RFBurns and why you could imagine all parties would work to ensure any ‘restructuring’ is achieved without debts being called or receivers and managers appointed due to this reason you rightly make.
In their favour of this not happening is that all parties are lacking a 1980’s Skase type mindset, so you’d think calling in loans and and appointing receivers and managers avoided.
Will be very interesting to see how Anchorage manages the debt they take on should the deal eventuate.
If ARN have to sell off some stations which they will most likely have to It could give ACE Radio the chance to buy the Mildura & Bendigo stations If they want to expand their network In Victoria.
It says “From what we’ve seen so far” so from that, I’d say that no, they haven’t done what you are suggesting, they are judging their proposal on feedback they’ve had from SCA shareholders willing or interested in selling at the price & proposal ARN have put forward.
Had that line not been there I would’ve agreed with you.
They’re not going to exactly talk it down either - it’s bad form (and quite possibly would fall foul of some level of rule).
That said, they’re potentially judging it based on limited information - it’s unlikely they have details about the alternate bids, but what we know of the ACM bid, it wasn’t particularly compelling.
My point is no matter what the situation is, the ARN spokesperson would have still (for obvious reasons which bacco touched upon) come to the same conclusion - even if there was a better proposal.
I don’t think that’s a scenario that will occur, SCA’s network is already all the markets where they are allowed to have radio + TV without a breach of the voices rule. The overlap markets might mean ARN don’t get a fully optimal set of stations - but ACP’s involvement means any station ARN can’t own, is guaranteed to be one that ACP can own, because SCA already owns it.
Some on sales might be likely depending on what ACP do in regards to assembling a cohesive network of stations with what will be a patchwork. They’ll be getting everything from Hit music stations to AM talk stations, so offloading some of those might make sense - but none of those will be forced sales because of media ownership, so they can take their time.
Being a family operator, Ace is also susceptible to the likes of ACP buying out its assets should the family no longer want to continue with the business.
The most amusing possible outcome would be seeing ACP on-sell its stations to Nova. DMGRR round 2, anyone?
“Clearly they (ARN) had made their investment (in SCA), but they had said that was a strategic investment. And then this came out of the blue, absolutely it did,” [SCA CEO John Kelly] told The Australian in his first interview since the takeover bid began.
“It’s been character-building, the first six months.”
Spheria Asset Management is shaping up to have influence in ARN Media’s plans to buy Southern Cross Media Group after lifting its interest in the two rival radio broadcasters.
As of January 18, Spheria increased its holding to 7.01 per cent from 5.01 per cent in Southern Cross after it became a substantial shareholder on January 12. Also on January 18, Spheria emerged with a holding of 5.7 per cent in ARN Media.
Allan Gray has written to Southern Cross Austereo management this week, urging them to accept the merger offer from ARN Media.
…
Allan Gray has an eager buyer for its 10 per cent, in the form of billionaire Alex Waislitz
For those playing along at home, Waislitz is the ‘quieter’ investment partner alongside Antony Catalano at ACM.
According to ARN’s 2023 Full Year Results presentation released this morning, ARN/ACP would be in a position to execute a binding transaction of acquiring SCA by late March, subject to the timely receipt of complete information required to finalise due diligence.
SCA will release their Half-Year Results next Thursday (29th February).
ARN’s Investor Presentation appears to indicate that the Hit Network is to be included in the merged company alongside KIIS, Triple M, and Pure Gold. Does this mean the new company would oversee four metro radio networks and three regional radio networks?
The section is in the digital audio joint venture segment - the plan is that Listnr/iHeart are replaced with one joint venture service operated jointly by both ARN and the ACP owned SCA remnants.
So it’s not a comment on the broadcast radio services.