Lachlan Murdoch and Bruce Gordon are still hopeful of blocking Network Ten’s sale to CBS, with both launching legal action against the free-to-air broadcaster’s administrator over its report of the deal to creditors.
Murdoch, Gordon and 21st Century Fox have requested Korda Mentha to delay next week’s creditors meeting to approve the Ten-CBS deal on Wednesday, claiming the administrator’s report is missing vital information needed for creditors to make a proper decision on the sale, according to The Australian Financial Review.
Korda Mentha responded with the following statement: “We will respond by letter to the concerns raised in correspondence reported in the media today. The report to creditors was comprehensive and compliant.”
Gordon’s WIN Corporation has made an application to the NSW Supreme Court to try and delay Ten’s next creditors meeting, which is scheduled for Thursday 12 September.
WIN’s court application was made on behalf of its CEO and Ten director Andrew Lancaster, who claims he has not been paid his directors fees, according to Fairfax.
Furthermore, WIN is seeking rights for all Ten shareholders to vote on the takeover deal and for CBS’s vote to count for just $1.
Hearings will take place on Thursday and Friday in the Supreme Court of NSW before a decision is made on whether the creditors meeting should be pushed back.
Fairfax understands that 21st Century Fox (of which Murdoch is executive co-chairman) is preparing to join WIN in court this week to have its complaints heard around the administration of Ten.
Murdoch and Gordon’s joint bid for Ten was the overwhelming favourite once the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) announced it would not oppose the offer.
However, in a shock move, Ten’s receivers (PPB Advisory) and administrator (Korda Mentha) made the decision to instead hand over the reins to US media giant CBS.
