Sunraysia Television Ltd, the operator of Channel Nine in Perth, has recommended a $163.2 million offer from Bruce Gordon's WIN Corporation Ltd for its principal asset, rejecting a $136.3 million bid from James Packer's PBL Media Pty Ltd.
The asset in question, Swan Television and Radio Broadcasters Pty Ltd, has been owned by Eva Presser's family company since 1989, after she acquired it for $95 million from Bond Media Group.
The station operates as an independent affiliate of the Nine Network, which is operated by PBL's 50 per cent owned spin-off vehicle PBL Media.
Ms Presser controls just over 49.7 per cent of Sunraysia's stock, while WIN owns 44.6 per cent of the group, yet Mr Gordon has never held a seat on the company board.
The company accepted a takeover approach from PBL in February, and announced plans to distribute proceeds of the deal to elegible shareholder via an off-market buy back.
Last month, WIN-associated ENT Pty Ltd won orders in the NSW Supreme Court to adjourn a Sunraysia general meeting called to approve PBL's offer, before launching its own bid.
The company indicated today that the key terms and conditions of the PBL and WIN offers were essentially the same, with both companies offering cash.
"The directors of Sunraysia have determined that the revised WIN offer is a superior proposal to the sale of Swan TV to PBL Media under the PBL Media Agreement," Sunraysia said in a statement today.
"Even allowing for the break fee of $1.363,600 which may be payable by Sunraysia as a result of the Sunraysia Board recommending that shareholders vote in favour of the WIN Transaction in the absence of a superior proposal, the cash consideration (net of the break fee) under the WIN Transaction is still some 18.7 per cent higher than the cash consideration offered under the PBL Media Transaction."
By 1252 WST, Sunraysia shares remained untraded at $14.00 while PBL dipped six cents to $20.44.
However, a shareholder meeting to approve the deal was stopped by a NSW Supreme Court injunction lodged by the Gordon-controlled ENT Pty Ltd.
Sunraysia had previously rejected a
