Australian-based media giant News Corp. is to buy out the last remaining minority shareholder of Sky Italia and assume full control of the satellite broadcaster.
The Financial Times reported on its website that News Corp. would pay Telecom Italia 60 million euros (73 million US dollars) for its 19.9 percent stake in Sky Italia.
The report, citing unidentified sources, said the talks were in an advanced state.
It said Sky Italia, which is modelled closely on News Corp’s BSkyB affiliate, was expected to break even within the next 18 months as it combats piracy and lifts subscription numbers.
The subscriber base for Italy’s sole satellite broadcaster is expected to reach three million by the end of the year, up from 2.2 million in 2003.
A News Ltd. spokeswoman in Sydney said she was unable to comment on the report. News Corp’s New York-based spokesman was unavailable.
The report comes as News Corp’s annual report said the company was positioned for growth in 2005.
News Corp. chairman and chief executive Rupert Murdoch said the group’s balance sheet had been significantly strengthened with debt paid down while decisive strategic steps had established a platform for further growth.
“We are poised for great organic growth throughout the company,” he said.
In the annual report, Murdoch argued in favour of News Corp’s plan to shift its domicile to the US from Australia.
“By becoming a US-domiciled company, we believe News Corp. would have improved access to a larger pool of investment capital — specifically, the 12 trillion US dollar US capital market,” Murdoch said.
“In addition, the company would become eligible for inclusion in US indices, including the SP 500 index, which we believe would generate billions of dollars of increased demand from funds that previously have been precluded from owning our company’s shares.”
In late afternoon trade News Corp shares were down 0.04 cents at 11.94 Australian dollars (8.36 US dollars).
