MELBOURNE: The former Australian cricket broadcast rights holder Channel Nine’s owners, Nine Entertainment has taken over one of the country’s premier media organizations, Fairfax Media. As per the deal, the merger is valued at an estimated AUD 4 billion ($3 billion). The company will be run on Nine’s name solely as it will be holding 51.1% stake in the company while Fairfax will own the remaining 48.9%.
However, Fairfax’s popular newspapers such as The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age will retain their identity, according to Australia’s ABC News.
The merger has divided the country with some sections claiming that Fairfax’s investigative journalism was second to none and a change in operations means an end to that. Although it is speculated that more than 100 jobs are on the line, Nine is expected to gain from Fairfax’s recent deal with Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. which involves sharing print presses to extend the longevity of its print editions.
This strategic move will also mean that Nine will continue its association with Australian cricket indirectly, having the ownership of Fairfax’s Macquarie Media which has the radio rights deal till 2024. Channel Nine had conceded the cricket broadcast rights to rivals Seven that cost the latter an estimated $1.2 billion, but snapped up Australian tennis rights instead.
Nine is also providing Fairfax’s shareholders a 22% premium on share prices, which means that the deal only needs formal approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) after both the companies announced the development in the country’s stock exchange market on Thursday.
The combined business will be led by Nine’s current Chief Executive Officer, Hugh Marks. Three current Fairfax Directors will be invited to join its Board of Directors, which will be chaired by Nine Chairman, Peter Costello and include two further current directors of the company. It will include Nine’s free-to-air television network, a portfolio of Fairfax’s high growth digital businesses, including Domain, Stan and 9Now besides radio and newspapers.
