Fairfax Media chair Ron Walker made $400m bid for Fairfax family’s stake

Ron Walker, the recently departed chairman of media giant Fairfax Media, has revealed he offered $387 million to buy the shares owned by director John B Fairfax and restore peace on the Fairfax board.

Walker was forced to leave the board last month after two Fairfax family board members, John B Fairfax and his nephew Nicholas Fairfax, released an extraordinary public statement calling for Walker to stand aside.

Five independent Fairfax directors, led by former Woolworths chief executive Roger Corbett, then released their own statement backing Walker.

But Walker has now revealed he offered to buy the Fairfax family’s 9.7% stake, offering the market price at the time plus a 5% premium.

”In order to get them off the register and restore peace to the board, I offered to buy their shares in the company,” Walker told the Sydney Morning Herald.

According to BRW magazine’s Rich 200, Ron Walker’s fortune is valued at $768 million, thanks mainly to his investments in property development. According to the list, Walker’s fortune increased from $427 million in the preceding year.

By contrast, John B Fairfax’s fortune has taken a huge hit over the last two years, falling from $1.32 billion in 2008 to $618 million in 2009. In addition to his stake in Fairfax Media, John B owns an extensive property portfolio.

Walker’s offer was refused and the subsequent board war has been extremely embarrassing for Fairfax Media.

However, peace has apparently been restored with the elevation of Corbett to the role of chairman.

A statement released yesterday by the board said the appointment had been unanimous, which would indicate the Fairfax family’s problems with the way the board has been structured have been resolved for now.

Corbett says he will be doing his best to ensure unity in the future.

“We would not want that type of situation to happen in the future and I as chairman will do my very best to ensure it does not.”