In this briefing:
- Trade Me (TMZ NZ): Hellman & Friedman Could Again Counter-Bid Apax, but Modestly
- Macq Media In The Crosshairs As Fairfax Merger Completes
1. Trade Me (TMZ NZ): Hellman & Friedman Could Again Counter-Bid Apax, but Modestly
Trade Me (TME NZ), the largest online auction platform operating in New Zealand, has entered into a scheme implementation agreement with Apax Partners. Apax Partners has upped its bid for Trade Me from NZ$6.40 to $6.45 a share, to match Hellman & Friedman’s bid.
Hellman & Friedman has until the shareholder vote scheduled for April 2019, to make a binding offer which is superior to Apax Partners, according to press reports. While Hellman & Friedman will likely have one last roll of the dice with an improved bid, we continue to believe that that the formal “winning” bid is unlikely to present a material bump.
2. Macq Media In The Crosshairs As Fairfax Merger Completes
Late last week, Australian media reported that preliminary discussions were underway between Nine Entertainment Co Holdings (NEC AU) and Macquarie Radio Network (MRN AU)’s second-largest shareholder, John Singleton. This development is not entirely unsurprising, just that formal discussions were deferred until the Nine/Fairfax Media (FXJ AU) merger was formally completed.
In July, Nine and Fairfax entered into a Scheme Implementation Agreement in which the two companies would merge (albeit a Nine takeover) via a cash/scrip structure, in an A$4bn deal, creating Australia’s largest integrated media player. This included the acquisition of Fairfax’s 54.5% stake in MRN. The scheme was implemented on the 7 December. I discussed the merger in my insight Nine & Fairfax – Integrated Advertising.
In an interview with The Daily Telegraph last month (paywalled), John Singleton confirmed that he was ready to sell his 32% stake in MRN as he was not interested in being a small player in a big operation.
The Australian (paywalled) is reporting that Nine has offered $2/share (a 9.3% premium to the closing price of A$1.83 on December 4th), with Singleton believed to be holding out for $2.15/share. In a further twist, Alan Jones, with 1.27% of MRN, is understood to have certain conditions/clauses attached to that stake should Singleton sell, which may make an offer tabled by Nine potentially untenable.
For its part, Nine has confirmed it has held preliminary discussions regarding the outstanding shares, and further announcements will be made by Nine should these discussions progress to a transaction. MRN is currently trading at ~$1.90/share.
