The NSW Supreme Court has dismissed Lachlan Murdoch and Bruce Gordon's legal battle to halt the sale of Ten to US network CBS Corporation, The Guardian reports.
Justice Ashley Black told the court he was not satisfied Murdoch and Gordon's case should halt a vital creditor's meeting tomorrow that could determine the fate of the deal.
Murdoch and Gordon must now convince Ten's administrators KordaMentha to accept a substantially improved 11th hour bid they tabled on Friday. This increases the offer pool for unsecured creditors to $55 million – well above the $35 million offered in their original bid.
However, it arrived well past the 25 August deadline and could be too late to halt the sale to the US network if it is agreed to at tomorrow's creditors meeting.
It is understood Ten's employees favour a CBS takeover because of concerns the Murdoch-Gordon bid could lead to job loses if operations are consolidated with similar divisions at Foxtel and Sky News.
The fate could rest in the hands of creditors, with the combination of CBS voting rights and Ten's staff likely to play a major role.
Other major creditors include 20th Century Fox and production companies including EndemolShine.
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