Ten goes into ASX trading halt as financial woes grow
Financially troubled TV broadcaster Ten Network has this morning gone into a trading halt on the ASX.
The move came after it was reported over the weekend that the three backers of Ten’s expiring $200m loan facility had declined to extend their backing beyond the end of the year.
Ten: planning dramatic cost cuts
Shareholders James Packer, Lachlan Murdoch and Bruce Gordon have been guaranteeing the CommBank loan. But in April, they signalled that they might not get behind the loss-making network’s new call for a bigger $250m loan.
Is anyone surprised by this? A once magnificent example of good diverse television production has been descended upon by revenue raiders, cash cow graziers, and corporate bandits. A succession of know all know nothing producers, dilettantes, and self-appointed media experts strutted and capered, whilst bean counters chiseled away at the last few meters of the foundations of good television programming.
Has anything Lachlan Murdoch every done worked?
if the goal was to drive Ten into the ground to make it possible for News to buy it…then yes.
but that may be an optimistic outlook on Lachlan’s abilities
Could have been the strategy, you never know… Rinehart in it for the long haul..?
Not ‘could have been’ – this is a ploy by the 4 largest shareholders to bring the media ownership rules to the forefront and be passed through parliament in this years remaining sittings.
It’s got all the scent of pick up the asset for nothing and offload it in 3 years for a tidy profit.