UPDATE 1-Consolidated Media shares fall 15% after deal flops

(Adds broker comment, updates shares)

SYDNEY, April 8 (Reuters) - Shares in Australia's Consolidated Media Holdings Ltd (CMJ.AX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) fell as much as 15 percent on Tuesday, a day after a proposed A$3.3 billion ($3.1 billion) buyout offer for the company was scrapped.

The deal collapsed after Lachlan Murdoch, son of media magnate Rupert, and U.S. private equity firm Providence Equity Partners failed to agree on terms with gaming tycoon James Packer, their partner in the bid.

"Given the current climate we think a deal is looking less likely in the near term," Alice Bennett, analyst at Merrill Lynch, said in a research note.

Debt-funded acquisitions have become increasingly expensive because a global credit crunch has sent financing costs sharply higher. Murdoch and Packer's joint bid for Consolidated Media, launched in January, stalled last month when key financial backer SPO Partners & Co withdrew.

"While a new bid cannot be ruled out, the chances of a buyout in the near term now look slim," said a report from Macquarie Bank media analysts.

Packer changed his mind about forming a 50:50 joint venture, instead seeking to sell down a 38 percent stake in CMH he already owns to 25 percent, newspapers reported, leaving Murdoch and new financier Providence to take a 75 percent stake.

Packer had also been insisting on a takeover price around 10 cents a share above the January offer, newspapers said.

Packer and Murdoch's original bid came less than three months after Packer separated his late father Kerry's media business from gaming to focus on building gambling operations.