TPG UPS THE ANTE ON FAIRFAX TAKEOVER BID

A CONSORTIUM led by telco TPG (ASX: TPM) has revised its proposal to buy out Fairfax Media (ASX: FXJ) for a price of $1.20 per share, which values the deal at $2.7 billion.

This comes one week after TPG's consortium first announced its unsolicited takeover bid to the market at an initial price of $0.95 per share.

The consortium's new proposal is to take over Fairfax entirely, instead of its initial plan to buy several of the company's key assets including the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and property listings guide Domain.

Fairfax says its board is reviewing the revised proposal, and that the company isn't certain whether the proposal will amount to an offer.

"The Fairfax board notes that there is no certainty that the revised indicative proposal will result in an offer for Fairfax, what the terms of any offer would be, or whether there will be a recommendation by the Fairfax board," the company said in a statement to the market.

"Regardless of whether the revised indicative proposal proceeds to an offer for Fairfax, [the board] believes that Fairfax has an announced strategy for the future that will deliver value for shareholders."

According to Fairfax, the proposal is also subject to several conditions including due diligence, shareholder approval at a scheme meeting and approval from relevant regulators including the Foreign Investment Review Board and the New Zealand Overseas Investment Office.

Fairfax has confirmed that it will still be going ahead with preparations for the potential separation of Domain Group, its prized profit-maker.

Today also marks five days since Fairfax workers returned to newsrooms following a week-long strike over a string of forced redundancies.

FXJ shares hit their highest level in six years on the revised takeover bid and at 12.30pm AEST they were trading at $1.145, after closing at $1.07 on Friday.

Business News Australia