APN News & Media, which is already 40% owned by Tony O'Reilly's Independent News & Media, publishes more than 100 national daily and weekly titles in Australia and New Zealand, including The New Zealand Herald and the Sunshine Coast Daily.
The group confirmed yesterday it had received a $2.2bn bid from the consortium led by Irish-owned Independent News & Media and the Carlyle Group, which it was now assessing.
According to reports, APN have been approached with a $6.05 a share offer, which is nearly 13 times higher than APN's 2006 expected earnings.
The bid is the second in less than six months from Independent News & Media for APN, after the Irish news group joined forces with Providence Equity Partners of the US for a failed bid in November.
Ted Harris, chairman of the independent subcommittee at the APN board, said: "The proposal will now be considered by the committee, which will decide whether it is in the best interests of shareholders, and make a recommendation as quickly as possible."
It is understood that it could be up to two weeks before APN is given a recommendation on whether to proceed with the offer, and any proposed sale could take up to three months to complete.
Aside from its regional print titles, APN also owns eight Australia-based outdoor advertising agencies, including Australian Posters and Adshel, as well as 14 radio stations, including WSFM Sydney and Gold FM Melbourne.
A relaxation of rules regarding foreign ownership of Australian media assets last year has allowed international bids for ANM and similar companies to be considered.
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