Bond defends costly media expansion

Press, 7 October 1987, Page 46

Bond defends costly media expansion

By

GRAHAM LLOYD

NZPA-AAP Perth The Bond Corp chairman Alan Bond has strongly defended the high-cost expansion of his media interests, dismissing negative publicity surrounding the float of Bond Media as superficial and ill-founded. In the company’s 1987 annual report, Mr Bond said: “Any assessment of Bond’s growing media interests should recognise our intention to be a large scale international participant." Mr Bond’s comments follow criticism by some analysts of the $1 billion paid by Bond Corp to acquire Kerry Packer’s electronic media assets in December, 1986. The purchase allowed

Bond to form Australia’s first national television network. But shares in Bond Media, Ltd, the company through which Bond Corp’s media assets were floated, slumped below their sAustl.ss issue price on listing. Bond Media shares were on Monday still trading at a discount to the issue price at about $l.ll teach. But Mr Bond said: “Despite the publicity surrounding these events (acquisition of Mr Packer’s interests), much of which will in time be seen to have been superficial and ill-founded, the fact remains that Bond now has a major and responsible role in the Australian media.

“The full benefits of networking provided by the economies of scale will produce increasingly better results for investors, for advertisers and, most importantly, for our massive and loyal national viewing audience." Mr Bond said accurate assessment of the group’s media activities during the vear needs to take into abcount the years of careful preparation. “Years of planning and years of studied development lie behind the group’s phased advancement in media,” he said. “All the components which ydur company has put in place globally will be rewarded by the emergent performance of a logical, commercially

sound portfolio of assets acquired at economic cost” In addition to the Nine Network, Bond Group has nine capital city and regional radio stations, the Sky Channel satellite entertainment network and television interests in the United Kingdom, the United States,'Papua New Guinea and Fiji. It also has a 24.9 per cent interest in the British Satellite Broadcasting consortium, being the largest shareholder and the only Australian participant. BSB has a 15 year franchise to provide four new television channels on three transponders and the right to provide ancillary services in the form of advanced teletext and data delivery.