New Zealand publisher NZME is believed to be reviving its efforts to embark on a merger of its assets with those of Nine Entertainment across the Tasman.
It comes after earlier efforts to strike a deal were blocked last year by the New Zealand Commerce Commission.
It is understood that any efforts to embark on the move are preliminary and being driven by NZME which remains under pressure to boost its performance, with sources close to Nine saying that the Australian-listed broadcaster (NEC) was not involved in such a plan.
Nine has been working with advisory firm Jefferies to find solutions for the New Zealand platform that it inherited from its merger with Fairfax Media.
However, it is understood that sales plans had stalled when finding a buyer prepared to pay up for the media assets proved challenging.
They are the only non-core assets left to sell by Nine since last year’s Fairfax deal.
Assets include the New Zealand news website Stuff, along with regional, suburban and Sunday newspapers, including The Sunday Star Times.
Sources across the Tasman say that NZME and Nine are making attempts to bypass the Commerce Commission and directly approach the government in the hope of securing a law change or direction by the minister in charge of the portfolio for an exemption under the Commerce Act.
The move is thought to be possible given that legislative intervention was involved for the formation of New Zealand’s largest company Fonterra.
It comes as NZME wrestles with deteriorating earnings with some questioning whether its future hangs in the balance as traditional media companies face disruption from technology giants such as Google, Twitter and Facebook.
The threat of the company’s future will no doubt be a point of negotiation when a revised merger attempt is raised with government ministers.
NZME was previously part of APN News and Media before it was spun out of the group and listed on the New Zealand stock exchange.
The company includes the New Zealand Herald and The Radio Network, which dominates the country’s talkback radio market with stations such as Newstalk ZB and has music stations such as Hits and ZM.
APN News and Media, which has since been renamed HT&E, announced plans to demerge its New Zealand assets in 2016, raising $200m of equity as part of the move through Credit Suisse-First NZ Capital and UBS.
The plan then was for the assets to be renamed NZME and merged with what was then the New Zealand Fairfax business.
But the merger plan was blocked in 2017 on the back of competition concerns and attempts to appeal the decision were also unsuccessful.
NZME (NZM), which is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, will be reporting its half year results on August 27 and now has a $95m market value.
The company remains under pressure to boost its performance after posting a 44 per cent fall in its net profit for the 2018 financial year.
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