The network is looking to complete sale of Macquarie Media by acquiring radio stations
Nine is making an offer to acquire the remaining 45.5 per cent stake in Macquarie Media, which it gained through the Fairfax Media merger in late 2018, at a cost of $113.9 million.
The move will see the media giant gain the Macquarie Radio business which includes stations 2GB, 3AW, 4BC, 6PR and Macquarie Sports Radio.
“The acquisition of Macquarie Media consolidates Nine’s position as the leading provider of news and current affairs content across all of the key platforms – television, digital, print and now radio,” said CEO, Nine, Hugh Marks.
As of late yesterday, the Macquarie board had voted in favour of the deal, however, as a matter of process, Nine is required to obtain 90 per cent shareholder approval. This is expected to come from dominant shareholders, Nine (54.5 per cent), John Singleton (32.4 per cent) and Mark Carnegie (3.6 per cent). If the transaction is approved as expected, it will be complete by December.
Nine plans to finance the acquisition from cash reserves and existing debt facilities and the media business expects to make cost savings of more than $10 million, mainly from combining support and administrative functions, and taking out some corporate costs such as ASX listing fees.
Marks said Nine’s mission – to create great content, distribute it broadly and to engage both audiences and advertisers – does not change.
“But the breadth of our opportunity to do so will increase significantly through the addition and integration of radio which increases our audience footprint and allows us to better collaborate on content, but most importantly align as a sales offering,” he stated.
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