Fairfax shareholders cool to TPG's A$2.2 billion play for publishing giant

Sydney

US BUYOUT firm TPG Capital Management led a A$2.2 billion (S$1.6 billion) approach for most of struggling Australian newspaper publisher Fairfax Media Ltd, a move Fairfax shareholders quickly rebuffed as too low.

The cool response suggests TPG and partner the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board (OTTP) will need to raise their indicative 95 Australian cents per share offer, which is below Fairfax's last closing price.

It also interrupts Fairfax's much anticipated plan to unlock shareholder value by spinning off its lucrative property listings unit, Domain, the most valuable part of the business after a collapse of earnings at news mastheads …