Nine Entertainment’s largest shareholder, billionaire Bruce Gordon, has backed the company’s prospects despite the abrupt exit of chairman Peter Costello, a languishing share price, and an external review of workplace culture in its troubled TV news division.

In his first public comments on the media for three years, the businessman – with a fortune estimated at $1.03 billion, according to the Financial Review Rich List – said Nine was “a great company, with great people producing great content”.