Sky TV falls as trading halt lifted

Sky TV shares were [NZX:SKT] tumbled 4.26% to $4.95 this morning before recovering to $5.05 or 2.32% down on the session.

The dip followed this morning's lift a a trading halt put in place yesterday as News Corp jettisoned its 44 percent stake at a discounted $815 million or $4.80 a share.

Yesterday, Hamilton Hindin Greene director Grant Williamson told NBR ONLINE that because News' stake was being sold at a discount, Sky TV shares would inevitably drop.

Mr Williamson says it could take months for the effect of the large sale to was through, but he sees the share price having head room once it does.

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News Corp completes $815.3m sale of Sky TV stake

9am: Rupert Murdoch's News Corp completed the $815.3 million sale of its stake in local pay -TV operator Sky Network Television.

The global media empire slated for a demerger along publishing and broadcasting lines later this year sold its 44 percent stake in Sky TV at $4.80 a share in an underwritten placement to institutional investors. Sky TV today said the sale has been completed.

A trading halt on the shares put in place for the sale has now been lifted. The stock last changed hands at $5.17 on Friday.

Murdoch's exit from the pay-TV firm comes four months after New Zealand's billionaire Todd family sold its 11 percent stake for $218 million at $5.05 a share. That was a discount of 5.8 percent at the time. News took the cornerstone stake in Sky TV via a merger with Independent News Ltd in 2005.

The stock is rated an average 'outperform' based on nine analyst recommendations compiled by Reuters, with a median target price of $5.535.

Last week, the New Zealand pay-TV operator reported a 9 percent lift in first-half profit to $68.2 million, with a total subscriber base at 846,988.

With reporting by BusinessDesk

NBR staff
Wed, 11 Jul 2018

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Sky TV falls as trading halt lifted