Nine Entertainment sells Weatherzone, inherited from $4bn Fairfax Media merger

Nine Entertainment has offloaded a third Fairfax Media business, inherited from its $4bn merger in December.

The sale comes more than four months after Nine carved up the events business inherited from its $4bn merger with Fairfax. Picture: Ross Swanborough

Nine Entertainment has offloaded a third Fairfax Media business, inherited from its $4bn merger in December.

The company has sold its 75 per cent stake in weather information group Weatherzone to US-based analysis firm DTN for an undisclosed sum.

The sale comes more than four months after Nine carved up the events business inherited from its $4bn merger with Fairfax, selling five major sporting events to Ironman Group for $31m. The remaining seven or so events will be integrated with Nine's publishing operations and some smaller sporting and parenting events shut down, resulting in some staff lay-offs.

Nine has also offloaded its regional publishing operations, Australian Community Media, to Antony Catalano and Alex Waislitz's Thorney Investment Group for $125m, but is finding it very tough to sell its operations in New Zealand, also inherited from the Fairfax deal.

Chief executive Hugh Marks said the group was pleased about the deal, as it looks to its digital operations for growth.

“This is a mutually beneficial deal which sees us exiting a non-core business in order to focus on Nine’s portfolio of high-growth, digital, consumer-facing assets,” he said in a statement.

Nine is looking to take over Macquarie Media after tabling a $1.46 a share cash offer in August for the remaining 45.5 per cent it doesn't already own of the radio network, home of Sydney's top station 2GB. The company also inherited its controlling 54.5 per cent stake in Macquarie Media from its merger.

As a result of the Fairfax tie-up, Nine owns all of streaming company Stan, and controls a near 60 per cent stake in online property listing firm Domain.

Nine said the sale price for Weatherzone was confidential. However, one of its newspapers, The Australian Financial Review, reported in July that Nine was hoping to get as much as $50m for its stake in Weatherzone.