The $1.9 Billion Foxtel Austar merger has been given the green light by shareholders, now it is down to the ACCC as to whether they will also agree to a deal.
Shareholders voted overwhelmingly to support the takeover of the regional pay TV operator by Foxtel.
In the end 97.6 per cent of shareholders voted in favour of the merger at a general meeting in Sydney this afternoon, which was well above the required 75 per cent threshold.
AAP said that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is yet to approve the takeover, which was announced in May last year, and it has expressed concerns that the merger of Australia’s two main pay TV providers would destroy competition in the market.
Austar believes the ACCC will make its final ruling before a court hearing on the takeover due on April 13.
The deadline for the merger is April 17, and Austar chief executive John Porter said the company would consider extending the agreement if the ACCC had not approved the deal by then.
“We have extended the agreement once,” Mr Porter said after the meeting.
“If we had to we will have a look at it again.”
Foxtel is half-owned by Telstra. James Packer’s Consolidated Media Holdings and Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation each hold a 25 per cent stake.
Austar shares closed 2.1 per cent higher at $1.45 today, still below Foxtel’s offer price of $1.52 per share.
