Bidding war for Nine radio stations heats up as company denies Singleton deal

Well-placed sources say Nine Radio has no verbal agreement with adman John Singleton, or any other interested parties, in relation to the potential sale of its talkback assets.

Nine chief executive Matt Stanton at its offices in North Sydney. Picture: Britta Campion

The potential sale of Nine Entertainment’s network of radio stations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth has attracted serious approaches in recent months from at least 12 interested parties, as company insiders dismiss reports that a consortium led by adman John Singleton has reached a deal to secure the assets for a knockdown price.

In September, Nine chief executive Matt Stanton confirmed long-held industry speculation that the company had received “a number of unsolicited offers” for its audio assets, and announced an internal “strategic review” into the company’s audio division.

It’s understood that as many as a dozen expressions of interest have been put to Nine – including some presented prior to the announcement of the review – with multiple suitors preparing to conduct due diligence on the suite of talkback stations, comprising Sydney’s 2GB, Melbourne’s 3AW, Brisbane’s 4BC and Perth’s 6PR.

Mr Stanton has previously said the review would determine if the assets were sold, partially sold, or retained with further investment.

John Singleton. Picture: NewsWire / John Appleyard

It’s Nine’s preference that if the network of stations is to be sold, the stations will be offloaded as a combined entity rather than separately.

Over the weekend, some media outlets claimed a verbal agreement was reached a fortnight ago between Nine Radio and the consortium led by Mr Singleton. It was speculated that Mr Singleton is willing to table an offer of $25m-$30m.

But well-placed sources have told The Australian that Nine has no verbal agreement with Mr Singleton or any other interested parties in relation to the potential sale.

“The strategic review of Nine’s audio assets continues to progress,” a Nine spokesman said on Sunday.

Mr Singleton did not respond to questions from The Australian.

In 2019, Mr Singleton, who had held stakes in radio stations for decades, sold his remaining interest in Macquarie Media, a company then valued at $275m, to Nine for $80m.

Last year, when Nine’s board first discussed the possibility of selling the company’s radio network, it had initially hoped to sell the assets for $50m; however, the continuing softness in the advertising market suggests the company would be lucky to attract bids as high as that now.

The Australian has previously reported that prior to the announcement of the strategic review, Nine had already received at least four approaches for its radio network, with one of the unsolicited offers – from emerging media player Australian Digital Holdings – worth about $42m, while the other initial bids all came in under $30m.

ADH was founded as a digital news channel under chief executive Jack Bulfin in 2021 and has been funded, in part, by billionaire former media and casino magnate James Packer.

The final radio ratings survey for the year will be released on Tuesday (although there is a poll to be released in January that covers the final six weeks of the 2025 ratings period).

This week’s survey will be closely watched by the parties that have conveyed expressions of interest in Nine’s talkback radio stations, as the stations have endured an up-and-down year.

While 3AW remains the company’s standout performer, 4BC and 6PR have struggled, and aside from 2GB’s dominant breakfast program fronted by Ben Fordham, the Sydney station – which drives much of the network’s revenue – has endured a patchy 12 months, prompting industry debate over the viability of talkback radio in an era of changing media habits.