Consolidated Media Holdings executive chairman John Alexander says he expects the merger deal involving Seven Network and Caterpillar dealer WesTrac will have no impact on his company.
‘‘After reading the Seven announcement, we don’t expect this to have any impact on CMH or our shareholders,’’ Mr Alexander told analysts during a conference call today. ‘‘We will obviously know more after Seven makes its scheme booklet available.
‘‘Specifically, our standstill agreement with Seven ... continues to apply until mid-September 2010.’’
Seven owns about 22 per cent of ConsMedia after an on-market buying spree in September last year in competition with Consolidated Media deputy chairman James Packer.
The parties reached a truce in September, as Seven took two board seats and pledged not to buy any further shares in the company for 12 months.
Under the Seven deal announced on Monday, Seven boss Kerry Stokes’s private company, Australian Capital Equity Pty Ltd (ACE), will transfer its ownership of Caterpillar dealer WesTrac to Seven, creating a new listed company, Seven Group Holdings Ltd (SGH).
Seven Network director Peter Gammell will be chief executive of SGH.
The new entity’s holdings will include its stake in ConsMedia, as well as Seven’s media properties such as its broadcast television network, stable of magazines and online partnership with Yahoo.
ConsMedia on Tuesday reported a net profit for the six months ended December 31 of $346.20 million, down from $391.54 million in the previous corresponding half.
But ConsMedia said its normalised net operating profit, giving like-for-like comparisons of continuing investments, was $43.7 million, up 17.8 per cent from $37.1 million.
The company owns 25 per cent of pay-tv company Foxtel, as well as 50 per cent of Premier Media Group, which produces the Fox Sports channels.
AAP
