Illyria sells Prime Media
Illyria yesterday sold their (nearly) 9% stake in the Prime Media Group, the parent company of the Prime Radio Network in Queensland.
The sale, at 68c per share, yielded $22m, valuing the consolidated Prime Media business at $256m. Illyria, Lachlan Murdoch's private company, bought the shares in Prime in 2009 for $15.6m.
"It was a very good investment; the company is now performing very well and it was a good time to pass the investment on to institutional investors" an Illyria spokesman commented.
"There are only a few windows available to sell and there are many other investment opportunities in front of us."
Illyria's representative on the Prime board has been Siobhan McKenna, who has resigned her directorship.
Prime Media Group Chairman Paul Ramsay said "We are sorry to lose Lachlan Murdoch as a shareholder and Siohban McKenna as a director. They both have made a tremendous contribution to the success of Prime".
The sale comes four weeks after Prime Media released its six months profit to the market with radio revenue declining slightly as Radio Today reported here.
Following the news Prime Media shares closed higher at 74c.