SCA has said it is “disappointed” after Anchorage Capital and ARN announced their intention to withdraw their takeover bid of the broadcaster.
SCA had been in lengthy talks with ARN and Anchorage Capital after the latter announced their takeover bid back in October 2023. The talks came to an abrupt close today, however, after ARN and Anchorage said they would be withdrawing their bid due to the performance of regional TV.
In an ASX release today, ARN said: “Following a period of due diligence engagement with SCA, ACP has notified ARN of its withdrawal from the Consortium. As part of its due diligence, ACP and its advisers completed an extensive review of Regional TV. In light of a continued decline in the trading performance of Regional TV 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, it does not support ACP’s Regional TV investment thesis. As a result, the Consortium must withdraw the Consortium Proposal”.
The SCA angrily hit back at the decision, saying it was “disappointed” by the move given both the investment of time and the communication it had received from ARN and Anchorage,
“SCA was only informed by ARN of its intention to withdraw its proposal on Saturday, 11 May 2024,” SCA said in a release.
“At considerable expense, SCA has engaged with the Consortium’s proposal for nearly seven months,
during which time the Consortium has reconfirmed its proposal to SCA at least five times, most
recently just seven business days ago. SCA is disappointed that the Consortium has now withdrawn
its proposal.”
SCA Chair Heith Mackay-Cruise said “it is frustrating that the Consortium has now withdrawn its proposal in circumstances where any potential material concerns should have been identified much earlier in the process”.
“I wish to acknowledge that the SCA management team has supported the due diligence process without losing focus on daily business activities. Broadcast advertising markets continue to be challenging, but SCA has grown its share of metro radio and digital audio markets during this year. In addition, our LiSTNR digital audio ecosystem delivered positive EBITDA for the first time in April and is on target to do so for the June quarter.”
“We remain open to considering proposals that would deliver fair value and be in the best interests of all SCA shareholders.”
