ARN has confirmed that it is “still considering options in relation to alternative proposals to acquire SCA” in an update to the ASX this morning.
After the withdrawal of Anchorage Capital Partners (ACP) from the proposed $250 million deal that would have seen ARN and Anchorage acquire SCA, an Alternative Indicative Proposal was put forward by ARN.
In a statement to the ASX last week, SCA said that while it “remains open to considering proposals that would deliver fair value and be in the best interests of all SCA shareholders,” ARN’s alternate proposal “does not satisfy either of these requirements.”
Due to that decision, SCA added it had “determined not to engage on any future proposal which may be provided by ARN in terms consistent with the Alternative Indicative Proposal.”
Anchorage originally withdrew its involvement in the potential deal due to “continued decline in the trading performance of regional TV.”
In a statement, Anchorage said that since the Consortium Proposal was made in October 2023, “the further deteriorating outlook for regional TV, and the existing long-term contractual obligation of SCA for outsourced TV broadcast transmission” were the major reasons “it does not support ACP’s regional TV investment thesis.”
The move was described as “frustrating” by SCA chair Heith Mackay-Cruise at the time, who said “Over the past seven months, SCA’s management team and advisers have worked diligently and collaboratively with the Consortium to evaluate the Consortium’s proposal and to enable the Consortium to substantially complete its due diligence.”
Mackay-Cruise added that this had “Required considerable cost and management effort by SCA,” and that it was “frustrating that the Consortium has now withdrawn its proposal in circumstances where any potential material concerns should have been identified much earlier in the process.”
At the same time, ARN Media chairman, Hamish McLennan said “Market restructuring has been talked about for a long time, but the fact remains that today’s regulatory environment is not reflective of the market in which Australian media operates and urgently needs government action.”
ARN has said it will keep the market informed in the event of any material developments.