Buyers circle Telstra's stake in Foxtel

Rupert Murdoch, James Packer and Kerry Stokes may vie for Australia's biggest pay-television network after the government said Telstra may have to sell its 50 per cent stake in Foxtel.

Telstra may be barred from buying new wireless licences unless the telco sells the Foxtel stake and separates its retail and network divisions, the government said. News Corp, owner of the Fox broadcast network, owns 25 per cent of Foxtel, as does Packer's Consolidated Media Holdings. Stokes's Seven Network owns 20 per cent of Consolidated Media.