CONSOLIDATED Media's surprise sale of its $440.8 million stake in Seek sent the market into a flurry of speculation today around James Packer, ranging from whether he was considering a mass liquidation to imminent moves to privatise Crown.
The sale of the 27 per cent stake in Seek surprised investors because many analysts believed the company had good prospects, The Australian reports.
Consolidated Media (cmj.ASX:Quote,News), which is 22 per cent owned by the Packer family, sold the stake, sending its stock price up 10.9 per cent, ahead of its profit announcement today.
Crown is also on a run, up 4.5 per cent at $7.97, ahead of its results tomorrow, bringing its rise in the last three days to 12 per cent.
Crown’s Macau partner, Melco, is also flying, rising 12 per cent in the last three days.
Challenger is up 5.4 per cent on speculation that Mr Packer is liquidating, so what better time to sell the financial services group, which is way undervalued on the market and a seemingly perfect fit for a bigger financial service house.
Less than 24 hours after ConsMedia said it received $50 million for its Sydney headquarters – used by the Packer family to run its diverse empire for at least four decades – the company said its stake in Seek had been sold to institutional investors at $5.05 a share.
The move adds another layer of intrigue to the battle for control of ConsMedia.
A series of stock market raids has left Kerry Stokes' Seven Network with 19.9 per cent of ConsMedia – the most it can buy without launching a full takeover bid. Mr Packer retaliated by lifting his stake to 40. 8 per cent, signalling he was not a willing seller.
ConsMedia is now left with a 25 per cent stake in Foxtel, a 50 per cent stake in the pay TV program provider Premier Media Group and an insignificant interest in PBL Media, owner of Nine and ACP.
There is speculation that Seven, with $1.4 billion in cash according to its annual profit results this morning, could launch a full takeover bid.
Mr Stokes told said that the move by ConsMedia to exit Seek was a good decision for shareholders given the recent rise in the Seek share price.
Additional reporting by Clive Mathieson
Read more on this story at The Australian.
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