Southern Cross shares dip while ARN Media rises as takeover inches closer
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More news: Shares in Southern Cross lowered in morning trading after the media group announced that its chair Rob Murray would step down as a director this year.
Southern Cross also said it would re-engage with ARN Media and Anchorage Capital Partners after the consortium offered to enhance their takeover bid last week.
Southern Cross shares were down 1% at $0.95 by 11:30am AEDT while ARN Media shares rose 4.52% to $0.81.
Southern Cross chair Rob Murray to step down as director
The news: Southern Cross has flagged a “board renewal” that will see chair Rob Murray step down as a director in 2024 following growing calls for his resignation after taking five months to assess a takeover bid from rivals ARN Media.
The numbers: On Friday, ARN and Anchorage Capital Partners said it was willing to enhance its takeover bid by adjusting the ARN exchange ratio from 0.753 shares to up to 0.870 ARN shares per fully diluted SCA share.
Today, Southern Cross said it would re-engage with the consortium on the proviso that terms reflect an exchange ratio no lower than 0.870 ARN shares per SCA share, along with the existing 29.6 cents cash per share.
The consortium noted the revised proposal was preliminary, incomplete and non-binding.
The context: Meanwhile, last week Southern Cross major shareholder Spheria Asset Management called for Murray's immediate resignation for dragging his feet on making a decision on the takeover. This was backed by Ubique Asset Management and Allan Gray, according to the Australian Financial Review.
Today, Southern Cross announced the retirement of Murray as a director, along with Glen Boreham, whose retirement as director was brought forward to 27 March.
Murray offered to stay on as chair if discussions on the takeover with the consortium have not been resolved by the annual general meeting.
What they said: “Having joined [Southern Cross] on the same day as Glen, I can attest to the significant contribution he has made over nearly 10 years,” Murray said in a statement on Monday.
“Our board and executive team have benefitted greatly from Glen’s knowledge and insights, his experience in mergers and acquisitions and other corporate transactions, and his global networks in technology and data industries.”
The source: ASX announcement
