ALLAN GRAY UPPS STAKE IN SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA
SOUTHERN Cross Media’s biggest shareholder, Allan Gray Australia, has increased its stake in the broadcaster to 15.5 per cent.
It comes after Southern Cross chief Grant Blackley signalled that he was ready to do a deal ahead of an expected round of industry consolidation.
One of Australia’s biggest investors in traditional media companies, Allan Gray has boosted its share holding in Southern Cross – the owner of Triple M and the radio network behind Fox FM – twice in the past four months.
It appears to be a vote of confidence in Mr Blackley’s focus on improving the Southern Cross balance sheet ahead of the expected round of consolidation.
Southern Cross also has a regional television affiliation with Nine Entertainment, the owner of the Nine Network.
Mr Blackley last week said the buyout activity yet to appear following last year’s sweeping changes to media ownership laws was expected within the next six months.
Key players were “getting their houses in order”, he said.
He made the comments as Southern Cross posted a net profit of $38.2 million for the six months to December – down 21 per cent from the same period a year earlier.
Stock exchange filings reveal that late last month, Allan Gray increased its stake from 13.87 per cent to 15.5 per cent – exceeding the 14.87 per cent it held two years ago.
Allan Gray chief Simon Mawhinney has expressed scepticism about the extent to which mergers could help media businesses. However, it appears that he may have adjusted his position after Mr Blackley sang the praises of potential buyout targets oOh! Media, HT&E and APN Outdoor.