Todd Communications has sold its 11.1pc stake in Sky TV for $218m. Photo / Sarah Ivey
Todd Communications, part of the privately owned Todd Corp, has agreed to sell its 11.1 per cent stake in Sky Network Television for $218 million, ending a 22-year tie up with the listed pay-TV operator controlled by News Ltd as it rotates capital into new ventures.
Todd Communications sold the
43.2 million shares at $5.05 apiece, a 5.8 per cent discount to their trading price yesterday. The agreement is dated November 1 and is expected to settle on November 8, when Todd will file a notice of ceasing to be a substantial holder of the company. The shares fell 4.3 per cent to $5.13 in trading today.
Former Todd Capital managing director Robert Bryden has been deputy chairman of Sky TV since 2001 and a director since 1990. He retired from Todd Capital in September 2011.
A spokesman for Todd declined to comment on the motivation for the deal. Sky TV chief executive said Todd has said it was "capital rotation" and he wouldn't be surprised to see a new Todd investment emerge in coming months.
"I thanked them for all their support over the years," Fellet told BusinessDesk. The Todds had been invested in Sky TV longer than he had run the company.
