Media moguls Lachlan Murdoch and Bruce Gordon have launched a joint takeover bid for troubled Australian commercial broadcaster Network Ten.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has confirmed that it has started a review of the proposed deal.
The deal would give Birketu and Illyria Nominees Television, the respective investment vehicles of Gordon and Murdoch, a 50-50 shareholding. Birketu currently has a 15-per-cent stake in Ten, while Illyria has a 7.5-per-cent shareholding.
The future of Ten has been in doubt for several months and in June the broadcaster entered voluntary administration.
Ten, a major sports broadcaster in Australia, has rights for sporting properties such as the Big Bash League Twenty20 cricket competition.
“While this transaction is dependent upon the passage of the media reform bill, it is appropriate that the ACCC begin its review of the proposed transaction that has been put to us by the parties,” ACCC chairman Rod Sims said.
“The ACCC will assess the potential effect upon advertisers and upon competition within free-to-air television and between free-to-air television and Foxtel, particularly in relation to sport, given the holdings of the main players involved. However, an ACCC investigation does not mean that the transaction raises competition concerns, but that further consideration is required for the ACCC to reach a view.”