The Australian- The private company controlled by John B. Fairfax, Marinya Media, which owns 14 per cent of Fairfax Media, has issued a blunt message to speculators and hedge funds that it is not vulnerable to margin calls, despite suffering a paper loss of more than $150 million on its Fairfax stake.
The speculation about possible margin calls has come following the recent disclosure in The Australian that Marinya had taken out a margin loan with 159 million Fairfax shares used as collateral. The loan was part of Mr Fairfax’s move to take control of Marinya.
But in an exclusive interview, Marinya investment boss Patrick Joyce said Marinya’s loan was highly prudent. "As part of our capital management, we have a very conservative amount of debt, in the form of a loan secured against Fairfax stock," he said. "We have not been margin-called, and speculation that we have been is completely unfounded."
