UK transmission provider Arqiva is to pass from Australian to Canadian ownership after the Macquarie Group said it proposed to sell its communications fund to the Canadian Pensions Plan.
Regulatory approval for the A$1.37 billion (€766.5 million) bid was required from both the UK Office of Fair Trading and the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board.
It means that the UK transmission network will over the past 10 years have been variously owned by UK, US, Australian and now Canadian interests.
The potential sale, which still needs shareholder approval, has been called into question over the value of the UK transmission firm. Singapore-listed Macquarie International Infrastructure Fund valued Arqiva at £1.49 billion (€1.70 billion), some 45% higher than an independent valuation by Deloitte, which estimated the value at between £823 million and £1.17 billion.
Macquarie also owns Broadcast Australia. The company has begun to reappraise its investment in infrastructure companies in favour of a return to the banking business.
About Julian Clover
"In an industry that experiences rapid change and often a confusing subsequent
constant supply of news, it is often refreshing to read an insightful perspective. Broadband
TV News and its editorial team regularly provide a context and
helpful analysis to breaking news.”
Broadband TV News is the must-read publication for those working in the Business of the Multiscreen Television. We deliver news, insight and data direct to your desktop. As well as our constantly updated website you can sign-up to our Daily and Weekly email bulletins. 
Connected TV Forecasts NEW REPORT. The number of TV sets connected to the Internet will reach 551 million by 2016 for the 40 countries covered in this report from Digital TV Research, up from 124 million at end-2010. The report states that this translates to 20% of global TV sets by 2016, up from only 6% at end-2010. Published in November 2011, this 83-page PDF report is the most geographically comprehensive to ever be published.