HT&E snaps up oOh!media stake

KIIS radio owner HT&E has taken a stake in struggling ad group oOh!media, which labelled the purchase ‘opportunistic’.

Kyle Sandilands, of the Kyle & Jackie O Show, is one of KIIS FM’s leading talents.

Commercial radio broadcaster HT&E has snapped up a 4.2 per cent stake in outdoor advertising group oOh!media, which recently raised $167m to pay down its debt pile.

In a brief statement to the ASX on Thursday, HT&E said it had acquired the interest as an "equity investment in a sector and assets that it is very familiar with", a reference to its former outdoor advertising business Adshel, which it sold to oOh!media for $570m in June 2018.

"HT&E spent approximately $15m in acquiring the equity interest,” it said.

The company said it "looks forward to supporting oOh!media as a constructive significant shareholder".

HT&E's statement, which was authorised by chairman Hamish McLennan and chief executive Ciaran Davis, came less than an hour after oOh!media revealed that HT&E had bought some of its shares.

In its brief statement, oOh!media said the "acquisition of oOh!media shares by another participant in the Australian media sector highlights the strategic value".

"oOh!media has not had any correspondence with HT&E in relation to its shareholding and regards the purchase as totally opportunistic.”

HT&E's move onto oOh!media's share registry comes just days after HT&E flagged accessing the federal government’s $130bn JobKeeper program, alongside cuts to pay and staff hours to save money during the economic turmoil and advertising spending downturn.

A big financial benefit for HT&E during the bleak economic environment is that it has no debt, with net cash of $111m and undrawn facilities totalling $250m. That compares to oOh!media’s debt of about $354.5m before its capital raising.

HT&E, which operates radio stations such as KIIS, Pure Gold and The Edge, on Monday said its board and management will take a 20 per cent pay cut for an initial six months and forego all incentive and bonus payments for the year.

Its on-air radio talent, including KIIS FM breakfast stars Kyle Sandilands and Jackie “O” Henderson, will continue to broadcast five days a week as usual, while taking “a minimum of 10 per cent cut in fees across various cost control measures”.

Staff will also work reduced hours, use up excess annual leave and in some instances take short term pay cuts - moves which are expected to generate cost savings of about $1m a month.

HT&E operates an outdoor advertising company, Cody Outdoor, in Hong Kong,