TLSYY Telstra Corporation Limited (PK)

   By Ross Kelly 
 

SYDNEY--Australian free-to-air broadcaster Ten Network Holdings Ltd. (TEN.AU) said it would sell an up-to-15% stake in the company to cable-TV provider Foxtel for 77 million Australian dollars (US$60 million).

Ten said it would raise another A$77 million through an issue of new shares to existing investors. The shares to Foxtel and existing investors will be issued at A$0.15 each, a steep 57% discount to their most recent trade of A$0.265.

Sydney-based Ten said it would also take a 25% stake in Multi Channel Network, an advertising sales joint venture between Foxtel and Fox Sports, and appoint the company as a sales representative to gain scale and reduce costs. It would also have an option to take a 10% interest in the Presto online-streaming service.

Foxtel is an equal joint venture between Telstra Corp. and News Corp. (NWS), publisher of The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires.

Write to Ross Kelly at ross.kelly@wsj.com

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