Mogul vs mogul? Kerry Stokes takes stake in James Packer’s media empire

Kerry Stokes’s Seven Network has reportedly taken a $100 million stake in James Packer’s Consolidated Media, owner of the Nine Network.

Kerry Stokes’s Seven Network has reportedly taken a $100 million stake in James Packer’s Consolidated Media, owner of the Nine Network.

According to a report in The Australian Financial Review, Seven has quietly built a 4.82% stake in Consolidated Media over the last few months.

The reasons for Stokes’s investment – which also gives him an indirect investment in pay television provider Foxtel, which is 25% owned by Consolidated Media – remain a mystery. The most likely scenario appears to be that Stokes and Seven are building a blocking stake to use if anyone attempts to launch a takeover.

According to the report, Seven and Consolidated Media have not discussed the investment.

Seven Network – of which Stokes owns 44.9% – also owns a large stake of West Australia Newspapers and environmental services company GRD.

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