Bermuda-based billionaire Bruce Gordon has secured a blocking stake in Ten Network Holdings amid rumours that majority owner CanWest had received a new bid for the Canadian broadcasting company.

Just four months after the media group failed to find a buyer, Mr. Gordon swooped for a further 4.3 percent stake in the firm through his investment vehicle, Birketu Pty Ltd., which is understood to have bought $40 million worth of Ten shares at $3 apiece from an offshore seller, taking his stake in Ten to above the 10 percent threshold required to block a takeover.

His investment pushed Ten shares 10 cents higher to $2.92, the highest close since June, when CanWest revealed its nine-month search for a purchaser of the broadcaster of Australian Idol and The Simpsons had collapsed after none were willing to meet its price expectations.

The Canadian media group was after more than $3 a share for its stake, while private equity firms including Blackstone and the Carlyle Group were only prepared to pay between $2.70 and $2.80 per share and are believed to be among the last bidders following Merrill Lynch's buyout unit and former Publishing & broadcasting chief executive Brian Powers' San Francisco-based Hellman & Friedman pulled out over price concerns.

Ten shares have experienced a roller-coaster ride this year, rising above $3.60 in January when CanWest was the middle of its sales process and investors bet on it achieving a higher price, but once it was shelved in June, CanWest shares dropped as low as $2.37, before recovering to current levels.

Mr. Gordon, who owns Australia's biggest regional broadcast company WIN and also has investments in the metropolitan affiliates of the Nine Network in Perth and Adelaide, acted on speculation that the Canadian media group had received a revised bid at a level it would consider, possibly with a combination of local and international buyout funds.

Last month he said Wollongong-based Ten was "probably worth a look at the cheaper price", and that he could be convinced to team up with a private equity firm or a "very friendly bank" to buy the firm and this bid will now allow him to block a takeover or use the stock to get a seat at the table.

Meanwhile, Birketu cut its stake in Ten from 14 percent to 6.5 percent and there is also speculation that Rupert Murdoch's News Corp was considering looking at the company following its 11 percent share slide earlier this year.

Following the aborted sale process, CanWest converted its economic interest in Ten into shares in August, giving it a 56 percent stake in the network and with the ownership issue now resolved, analysts expect the company to flag a capital return of up to $400 million and announce changes to its board when it reports earnings for financial 2006/07 this week.

CanWest is expected to shrink Ten's board from 11 to seven directors, with the resignation of several long-term Australian directors, including Laurence Freedman and Brian Sherman, and the inclusion of CanWest president, Leonard Asper, and Tom Strike, who runs CanWest's international business.