ACCC clears the way for Illyria and Birketu to acquire Ten

By Addie Thomes

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has cleared the buyout of Network Ten by media giants Birketu and Illyria.

Birketu, owned by Bruce Gordon, and Illyria, owned by Lachlan Murdoch, propose to each acquire a 50% interest in Ten, and to operate it as a joint venture entity. Gordon and Murdoch have links with a number of media assets in Australia, with some concerned that this move would tighten the moguls’ stranglehold on the country’s media output.

However, the ACCC does not see enough threat to competition to block the proposed joint venture takeover.

RELATED STORIES:

“The ACCC considers that this deal is unlikely to result in a substantial lessening of competition in any relevant market, despite it lessening competition via a greater alignment of Mr Murdoch’s, Mr Gordon’s, and Ten’s interests,” ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said.

The ACCC does not have significant concerns about the potential for overlap between Gordon’s WIN interests and Ten as the networks are broadcast in separate geographic areas.

“Our review focussed on how the transaction would result in an expansion of Murdoch interests in Australian media, when they already have a significant influence in newspapers, Foxtel, radio, and television production,” Sims continued.

“We considered whether the acquisition would significantly reduce competition, by causing a reduction in the quality and range of news content, or increasing the negotiation power of the combined Ten/Foxtel/News Corporation.”

It is as yet unknown how much money is involved in the deal, although Ten went into voluntary administration in June.

Share

Featured Articles

Meet the female CEOs driving growth for Starbucks China

COO Molly Liu to join Belinda Wong as co-CEO Starbucks China, as the company builds on its skyrocketing growth with plans to open 2,500 stores by 2025

The world’s biggest chipmaker bets big on renewable energy

Despite the struggle faced by chipmakers to reduce emissions, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing is accelerating renewable energy adoption by 10 years

Uniqlo shakes up leadership amid global retail ambitions

Fast Retailing, the group behind Japan’s Uniqlo, overtakes Gap with soaring profits and is now eyeing accelerated global expansion with executive shakeup

What is the ESG strategy of Chinese automaker Geely Holding?

Sustainability

Top 10 best-performing CEOs in Singapore

Leadership & Strategy

Top 10 women behind India’s most successful tech startups

Leadership & Strategy