Fairfax have sold Trademe

Forums › Off topic › Fairfax have sold Trademe

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 9996

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#112637 15-Dec-2012 22:19

Hot off the press in Australia this evening (no mention at all in the NZ media yet) is the annoucement that Fairfax have sold their remaining stake in Trademe for A$650 million to pay off debt.

It could be some interesting times ahead for Fairfax. The debt may be gone but so is the money tree...

1 | 2

29098 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 10209

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#732990 15-Dec-2012 22:21

Unless they have learned all they need to and are not happy with where trademe is going - about to roll their own or something perhaps?

Richard rich.ms

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
80647 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 41030

Administrator

ID Verified

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#732992 15-Dec-2012 22:23

More information on The Australian (two hours ago): "Fairfax drops Trade Me.

"FAIRFAX Media is selling its remaining stake on on line arm Trade Me for AU$650 million to leave the company debt free.

The stake is being sold today to a range of institutions in a placement through UBS. UBS is selling the shares to a range of Australian and New Zealand institutions.

The sale at $ 3.05 a share is at a five per cent discount to the stock's close on Friday

The sale proceeds amount to more than the company paid for Trade Me some five years ago so it has been a profitable investment.

But the deal surprises because it is regarded by many as its best assets in the digital media world.

Fairfax is reportedly keen to pay down all debt to match the status of News Corps new print media arm and having watched the pitfalls of Ten network."

Referral links: Quic Broadband (free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE) | Samsung | AliExpress | Wise | Sharesies

Support Geekzone by subscribing (browse ads-free), or making a one-off or recurring donation through PressPatron.

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
80647 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 41030

Administrator

ID Verified

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#732993 15-Dec-2012 22:25

richms: Unless they have learned all they need to and are not happy with where trademe is going - about to roll their own or something perhaps?

Only if they're backing Wheedle...

Referral links: Quic Broadband (free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE) | Samsung | AliExpress | Wise | Sharesies

Support Geekzone by subscribing (browse ads-free), or making a one-off or recurring donation through PressPatron.

mattwnz

20515 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 4795

#732998 15-Dec-2012 22:43

Interesting the news isn't even on the stuff website. Wonder if they will now remove all the links on the stiff website to all the different trademe websites. Doesn't really much much sense to me in terms of online being the future for news, but I guess if they need to pay down debt they may not have much choice. 5% discount on the shareprice though is quite generous. Guess they did that for a quick easy sale.

nakedmolerat

4631 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 874

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#732999 15-Dec-2012 22:58

Oz bubble has popped!

1080p

1332 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 152
Inactive user

#733000 15-Dec-2012 23:04

Interesting news, I'll be watching this space closely :)

Quic Broadband

Move to New Zealand's best fibre broadband service (affiliate link). Free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE. Note that to use Quic Broadband you must be comfortable with configuring your own router.

mattwnz

20515 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 4795

#733004 15-Dec-2012 23:14

Wonder what it will do to the share price on Monday. Fairfax did very well out of it in the end, so a good investment for them. But I struggle to see where the growth is in it without some major new idea. Currently they are just raising fees to increase revenue, which at some stage the fees will have to reach a peak. It's not really a growth company in it's current form, but I think it needs to be.

Speaking of Wheedle, I see they have updated their website with a new yellow colour and a message to say they will be back online soon. I think they are better to do a soft relaunch this time.

Batman

Mad Scientist
30012 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 6217

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#733051 16-Dec-2012 09:21

nakedmolerat: Oz bubble has popped!

the print media bubble has popped a while back with most of fairfax's newspapers losing money to the internet generation ...

sleemanj

1514 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 315

#733091 16-Dec-2012 11:36

richms: about to roll their own or something perhaps?

They are not THAT stupid.

---
James Sleeman
I sell lots of stuff for electronic enthusiasts...

gzt

18679 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 7811

Lifetime subscriber

#733174 16-Dec-2012 15:54

I caught something on the radio today something like fairfax would not confirm or deny the sale and neither would trademe. Weird.

old3eyes

9158 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1364

Subscriber

#733233 16-Dec-2012 19:31

3 News tonite said that sale was all on..

Regards,

Old3eyes

Mighty Ape

Shop now at Mighty Ape (affiliate link).

eracode

Smpl Mnmlst
9333 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 6199

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#733273 16-Dec-2012 20:52

Nothing all day on the NZ Herald website until 7.00 pm.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

mattwnz

20515 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 4795

#733274 16-Dec-2012 20:53

gzt: I caught something on the radio today something like fairfax would not confirm or deny the sale and neither would trademe. Weird.

I thought these things had to be announced through the stock exchange where they put a trading halt on the shares.

logo

659 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 255

Trusted

#733281 16-Dec-2012 21:20

Be interesting to see who will become TM's largest shareholder

Can it still be claimed to be aussie owned afterwards?

mattwnz

20515 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 4795

#733288 16-Dec-2012 21:51

It will possibly be very difficult to tell as they are often purchased in bulk by fund managers.I did read a good story in the herald, which basically said that they have sold it at the right time, and I'd concur.

1 | 2