You are viewing the archive: “James Packer”

Oz Billionaire James Packer Partners With Brett Ratner On RatPac Entertainment

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor | Tuesday December 11, 2012 @ 1:35pm PSTTags: Big Deals Film, Brett Ratner, James Packer

James Packer Partners With Brett RatnerAustralian media scion James Packer is getting into the Brett Ratner business. The billionaire will personally back film development, production and finance company, RatPac Entertainment. Ratner and Packer are looking to produce and finance independent films and co-finance “blockbusters” with studio partners. Two projects have been identified to be co-financed, although details have yet to be disclosed. “We intend to build a major independent film company which not only has the ability to fully finance its films, but which also offers creative independence for its filmmakers,” Ratner said in a statement that was short on information. Packer is the chairman of Oz-based gaming and entertainment company Crown Limited. He is the son of the late Australian media tycoon Kerry Packer. In October, his Consolidated Media Holdings voted in favor of a $2.1B takeover bid by News Corp.

Comments (18)

Australia Regulator Clears News Corp’s $2.1B Bid For Consolidated Media

By KINSEY LOWE | Wednesday August 1, 2012 @ 11:07pm PDTTags: Big Deals TV, Consolidated Media Holdings, James Packer, News Corp

Don Groves is a Deadline contributor based in Sydney.

News Corp.’s $A2 billion ($2.1B) bid for James Packer’s Consolidated Media Holdings, which owns 25% of Australian pay-TV platform Foxtel and 50% of the Fox Sports channels, … Read More »

Comments (0)

Sloan & TPG Eye A $3B Bid For Australia’s Nine Entertainment

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Thursday July 19, 2012 @ 5:29pm PDTTags: James Packer, Nine Network

Don Groves is a Deadline contributor based in Sydney

The hedge fund which bought Australia’s Nine Network and magazine group from James Packer for $A5.5 billion in 2007 and has since struggled to pay down the debt may have find a lifeline- although it may be forced to take a sizable haircut.  Hollywood mogul Harry Sloan is teaming with private equity group TPG to launch a $3 billion bid for Nine Entertainment Co., according to The Australian Financial Review. Nine’s owner, CVC Asia Pacific, is under pressure to do a deal as it is obliged to repay $2.8 billion in senior debt in February 2013. It also owes about $1 billion to mezzanine or second-tier lenders led by a Europe-based Goldman Sachs fund. The paper said TPG managing partner Ben Gray met with Nine chief executive David Gyngell and other senior management in Sydney this week.  Nine comprises  east coast free-to-air TV stations, ACP Magazines, the Ticketek agency, the Allphones Arena in Sydney  and a 50 per cent share in NineMSN. In May the Fin Review reported Sloan had met with CVC Australia boss Adrian McKenzie to discuss a proposal whereby Sloan’s  Global Eagle Acquisition Corp.  would raise the capital to pay back Nine’s senior lenders and take a controlling stake in a refinanced Nine listed on the Nasdaq. Read More »

Comments (0)