The purpose of this thread is to summarise the ongoing situation with Ten - it will be updated as information comes available or questions are answered
Current Status
Ten Network Holdings are under administration
Timeline
10th/11th June - Three major shareholders (Murdoch/Gordon/Packer) withdrew support for a new debt arrangement that was to replace an existing loan that was to expire in December
13th June - Ten Network Holdings request ASX trading halt
14th June - Ten declare voluntary administration, KordaMentha appointed Administrators, suspended from the ASX
What is Administration?
From ASIC:
[quote]Voluntary administration is an insolvency procedure where the directors of a financially troubled company or a secured creditor with a charge over most of the company’s assets appoint an external administrator called a ‘voluntary administrator’.
The role of the voluntary administrator is to investigate the company’s affairs, to report to creditors and to recommend to creditors whether the company should enter into a deed of company arrangement, go into liquidation or be returned to the directors.
A voluntary administrator is usually appointed by a company’s directors after they decide that the company is insolvent or likely to become insolvent. Less commonly, a voluntary administrator may be appointed by a liquidator, provisional liquidator, or a secured creditor. [/quote]
Who are Ten’s major shareholders
Table has been copied from the ABC
| Company name | Principal investor | Percentage stake | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birketu Pty Ltd | Bruce Gordon | 15pc | $8.7m |
| Foxtel Management | Foxtel | 13.9pc | $8.1m |
| Hanrine Investments | Gina Rinehart | 8.3pc | $4.6m |
| Aidem Holdings | James Packer | 7.5pc | $4.4m |
| Illyria | Lachlan Murdoch | 7.5pc | $4.4m |
| Network Investment Holdings | Kerry Stokes | 3.1pc | $1.7m |
Why has this happened
The withdrawal of support for a new debt arrangement makes it difficult for Ten to refinance its existing debt - the amount due in December was in the order of $200 million (4x the company’s market capitalisation prior to going into administration).
The withdrawal of support left Ten with no other option, despite making ‘significant progress’ on future earnings, including:
• delivery of the cost and revenue initiatives identified in the transformation process currently underway;
• renegotiation of material programming contracts; and
• reduction in Federal Government imposed licence fees.
What does this mean for my favourite program (x)?
At this stage (14/6) - nothing - Ten have told TV Week that it’s programming as usual. Ten have been in talks with CBS and FOX about their content deals in an attempt to reduce Ten’s expenditure, Ten have agreed ‘in principle’ to terms, but these are yet to be finalised.
It is unclear at this point whether these new deals mean that Ten will lose access to content. Locally produced content is likely to continue to air as planned for the foreseeable future (although this could change)
Hasn’t this happened before?
Yes, in the early 90s, Ten went into receivership before being bought by a consortium led by Canadian company Canwest who went on to be the majority shareholder in the company until 2009