Source : Globe & Mail

The head of Score Media Inc. has a message for the would-be buyers of Canada's third-largest cable sports channel who balked at his asking price a few months ago: They missed out on a bargain.

Speaking to shareholders at the company's annual meeting yesterday, chief executive officer John Levy said the next time he opens the door to selling his controlling stake in The Score, the price will be higher.

"Frankly, they were quite silly in not taking us up on the offer, because they're unlikely to see that again," he said.

Mr. Levy, whose family holds the majority of voting shares in the live sports and highlights channel, put his stake in the small broadcaster up for sale at $2.90 a share in June, but the auction closed in November without bids.

The decision to test the waters for a sale came after Score Media noticed CanWest Global Communications Corp. was boosting its stake in Score to 26.5 per cent last spring through shares bought on the open market. CanWest inherited 22 per cent of Score Media through its purchase of Alliance Atlantis. "We wanted to take charge of the situation," Mr. Levy told shareholders. "Basically we were saying [to CanWest], if you want to do something - do it."

Mr. Levy set his asking price at $2.90 a share, an 81-per-cent premium on what the shares were trading at last spring, but CanWest decided to stay put, along with other buyers who expressed interest but never bid. Their identities were not disclosed.

The asking price valued Score Media, which derives 83 per cent of its revenue from The Score cable TV channel, at $283.5-million, a price some analysts thought was hefty for the operation. The thinly traded stock jumped to $2.38 after the auction was announced, but shares have fallen about 45 per cent from that peak with the sale not going ahead.

Mr. Levy said the firm plans to spend the next few years expanding on other platforms, including its mobile applications and its satellite radio operations, which will increase future revenue. The Score is also looking to start its proprietary shows in other markets around the world, he said.

The company is also looking to inject life into its slumping stock by boosting liquidity. The stock is thinly traded, since large blocks are owned by the Levy family, institutional investors and CanWest.

Score Media will open a new street-level studio in Toronto this spring, which will have live scoreboards and a digital news ticker to increase the brand's visibility, Mr. Levy said. SCR (TSX) rose 6 cents to $1.30.

© Globe and Mail