Wealthy shareholder's 11th-hour offer to buy out 20 per cent of Fairfax's shares

Last-ditch threat to Nine’s merger with Fairfax as wealthy shareholder makes bid to buy out 20 per cent of publisher’s shares and scuttle deal

Wealthy investor has offered to buy 20 per cent stake in Fairfax ahead of merger
Former Domain CEO Antony Catalano has written a letter to Fairfax chairman
Letter comes just before a shareholder vote on the merger with Nine on Monday

By Brett Lackey For Daily Mail Australia and Aap

Published: 15:30 GMT, 18 November 2018 | Updated: 15:56 GMT, 18 November 2018

A wealthy investor has made an 11th-hour offer to buy out almost 20 per cent of Fairfax’s shares in a move that would derail the companies merger with Nine Entertainment Co.

The former Domain chief executive Antony Catalano has written a letter to Fairfax chairman Nick Falloon on Sunday afternoon outlining the offer and saying he no longer supported the merger.

Mr Catalano currently owns a one per cent stake in both Fairfax and Domain and would require significant support from other shareholders for his deal to progress ahead of a shareholder vote on the merger on Monday.

The former Domain chief executive Antony Catalano (pictured) has written a letter to Fairfax chairman Nick Falloon on Sunday afternoon saying he no longer supported the merger

Fairfax is set to take on the Nine name when the companies combine (pictured; Nine Entertainment CEO Hugh Marks)

‘The timing is not a deliberate attempt to disrupt the deal at the last minute,’ Mr Catalano told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age late on Sunday.

‘I wanted to explain this wasn’t deliberately planned as an 11th-hour attack … I hope no one sees this as anything other than genuine, I’ve had 26 years of involvement with Fairfax.’

In his letter Mr Catalano offered to acquire 19.9 per cent of Fairfax shares at above market prices and pursue a different direction than the Nine merger by selling non-core assets and building Domain franchises.

‘As the former CEO of Domain, I have a unique knowledge of that business, and accordingly believe that I could provide significant assistance in optimising its value for Fairfax shareholders, along with providing a strategy for the balance of Fairfax’s valuable assets,’ the letter states.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission earlier this year found the merger will likely reduce competition in the nation’s news content market – but not enough to break the law.

With Fairfax set to take on the Nine name when the companies combine, the step will reduce the number of big media players to four: Nine, the Seven Network, News Corp and the ABC.