SYDNEY, Australia — Australia's richest man, Kerry Packer, today launched a $39.8-million bid to buy back the television network he sold to entrepreneur Alan Bond two years ago for $750 million.
But Bond's flagship, Bond Corp., said it would not sell out of the Channel Nine network, despite mounting pressure over its $6.2 billion in debt.
"Frankly, we're just not interested," Bond Corp. director Peter Lucas told Reuters.
A rejection by Bond Corp., which controls 51.6% of stock in Channel Nine owner Bond Media, could foil Packer's bid because it is conditional on acceptance by holders of 90% of Bond Media shares.
But Packer said Bond Media faced collapse unless it obtained more money.
Among the Bond group's debts is $150 million owed to Packer, to be repaid by March, 1990.
