Seven West merger looks a done deal
Kerry Stokes plan to bring together Seven Media Group and West Australian newspapers looks almost certain to go ahead after WAN shareholders voted in favour of the plan.
A statement from Seven Group said:
11 April 2011 — Seven Group Holdings Limited (SGH) today welcomed the decision by shareholders in West Australian Newspapers Holdings (WAN) to support the acquisition of Seven Media Group to create Seven West Media.
Seven West Media (SWM) will be Australia’s leading publicly listed media company with a presence in broadcast television, radio, newspaper publishing, magazine publishing and online.
The steps to create SWM are expected to complete by 21 April, 2011. Following completion, SGH will hold a 29.6%1 stake in SWM and $250 million of SWM Convertible Preference Shares.
SGH Group Chief Executive, Mr. Peter Gammell, said: “SGH is pleased that it will become the major shareholder in Seven West Media, which has strong media assets and management and is well-placed to play a leading role in the development of media in Australia.
“Seven West Media is an important investment for SGH, enabling SGH shareholders to recognise the underlying value of their media interests. Coupled with our investments in Consolidated Media and 4G broadband group vividwireless and our expanding WesTrac business, we are well-placed for future growth in two expanding sectors: media and industrial services.”
Chairman of SGH and Seven West Media, Kerry Stokes, said: “The scope and scale of our media businesses with Seven West Media will create further opportunities to ensure that we have a strong, local, vibrant media presence creating content for Australians in an increasingly fragmenting and competitive media landscape.”
Tim Burrowes founded Mumbrella in 2008. He worked on Mumbrella until 2021. At various points he was editor, content director and editor-at-large.
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