News Corp offers $2 billion to acquire Australian Pay TV Company

In a move that would give News Corporation a larger foothold in the lucrative pay TV business in Australia, Rupert Murdoch’s media conglomerate said it has agreed to pay roughly $2.2 billion to acquire Consolidated Media Holdings.

In a statement released today in Sydney, News Corporation said that if approved by Australian regulators, the takeover would “double its stakes in Australia’s leading pay television business, Fox Sports Australia and Foxtel, to 100 percent and 50 percent respectively.”

Telstra Corporation, an Australian telecommunications firm, owns the other half of Foxtel.

James Packer, an Australian casino and media mogul, controls Consolidated Media. Mr Packer said in a statement that he looks forward “to CMH and News working together to address the detailed terms and conditions” of the takeover.

The deal will face a lengthy review by Australian regulators and represents News Corporation’s largest investment in pay TV. The $2 billion bid for Consolidated Media also marks the largest potential acquisition for News Corporation.