Johannesburg - Times Media Group, publisher of Sunday Times, received an expression of interest to be taken over by biggest shareholder Blackstar Group SE.
Blackstar, an investment company with a 32.5 percent stake in Times Media, will offer R22 a share in cash for the stock it doesn’t already own, both companies said in a joint statement today. That would value the publisher at about R2.8billion ($247 million). The cash offer won’t exceed R500million and the balance will be settled in new Blackstar shares, the companies said.
“Blackstar has developed significant knowledge and expertise with regards to TMG and its operations and is well positioned to extract further value in the face of challenging market conditions,” Blackstar said.
Times Media’s cash flows may be reinvested in other industries, it said.
Times Media shares gained 2.4 percent to 21.50 rand as of 9:48 a.m. in Johannesburg, valuing the business at R2.7billion. The stock increased 7.7 percent on December 5.
Bloomberg