Media and entertainment company WIN Corp, owned by Australian media mogul Bruce Gordon, is preparing to increase its stake in online DVD rental group Quickflix.
The company, which currently owns 7.5% of Quickflix, will swap part of a $1 million convertible note into shares, potentially bringing its total holdings up to 20%, which would make it the largest shareholder in the company.
Quickflix executive director Stephen Langsford is currently the largest shareholder with a 19.9% stake.
The company announced a $1.1 million loss in the first half ending 31 December, following a $2.9 million loss for the corresponding period a year earlier.
Revenue stayed at around $1.72 million during the March 2009 quarter, but the online rental service recorded a 13% jump in the number of subscribers to 31,463.
Quickflix is also branching out into download services, similar to those offered by Apple and US rental company Netflix. The group said it will partner with Warner Bros to offer the film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button as a downloadable rental.
WIN currently owns the Nine Network’s Adelaide and Perth stations, which it bought last year for $268 million. It also owns part of the Ten Network, West Australian Newspapers and Consolidated Media Holdings.
Gordon has a personal net worth of $435 million, according to Forbes magazine’s “Australia’s 40 Richest” list, which was published yesterday.
Quickflix’s Langford and managing director Simon Hodge could not be reached for comment before publication.
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Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
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