Australian media conglomerate APN News & Media said today it had received a renewed takeover bid from a buyout consortium led by Independent News & Media.
APN, which publishes more than 100 daily and non-daily newspapers in Australia and New Zealand, confirmed to the Australian Stock Exchange that it had received an offer 3.75 billion Australian dollars (€2.26 billion) offer from the consortium, which also includes private equity firms Providence Equity and Carlyle Group.
The proposal, the first in the sector for 2007, follows a multi-billion-dollar buyout spree late last year ahead of changes to Australia's 20-year old media ownership laws.
Tony O'Reilly already owns around 42 per cent of Sydney-based APN, which operates radio stations and outdoor advertising sites and publishes newspapers in Australia and New Zealand, including the New Zealand Herald.
AP