The Wall Street Journal-20080201-Burrows Resigns as Director of Fairfax Media

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Burrows Resigns as Director of Fairfax Media

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SYDNEY, Australia -- Australia's Fairfax Media Ltd. said Mark Burrows has resigned as a nonexecutive director to ensure there is no conflict of interest stemming from his role as an adviser in the privatization proposal for rival media group Consolidated Media Holdings Ltd.

Mr. Burrows works for advisory group Lazard Carnegie Wylie, which is acting for Lachlan Murdoch's privately owned Illyria Pty. Ltd. investment vehicle in its privatization plan for Consolidated Media.

"...I acknowledge that perceptions of a potential conflict have arisen and that these perceptions are not in the best interests of Fairfax or the proposed transaction," Mr. Burrows said.

Consolidated Media, which among other things owns a 25% stake in the pay-television group Foxtel, recently announced it had received a privatization proposal valued at 3.31 billion Australian dollars ($2.97 billion) from Mr. Murdoch and part-owner James Packer. The move by Mr. Murdoch, who is a director of News Corp., is independent of News Corp., whose holdings include Fox News Channel and Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones & Co.