NZME fails in push to buy Nine’s Stuff
The ownership of Nine’s NZ media business Stuff hangs in the balance after the failure of NZME's acquisition attempt.
The future ownership of Nine Entertainment's New Zealand media business Stuff hangs in the balance after the failure of NZME's push to buy the business for just $NZ1 (93c).
NZME, which owns Auckland masthead the New Zealand Herald and other media assets, disclosed on Tuesday morning that it has been "declined an interim injunction to preserve the exclusive negotiation period previously agreed with Nine".
Nine, led by chief executive Hugh Marks, on May 11 rejected NZME’s view, declaring that talks on NZME’s proposed purchase of Stuff were over. On the same day, Stuff CEO Sinead Boucher declared that the negotiations had ended the previous week.
Nine is understood to be in talks with other potential buyers of Stuff after walking away from NZME's offer, which is substantially lower than the $1bn-plus former Fairfax boss Fred Hilmer paid for the business nearly two decades ago.
As a result of a NZ High Court decision, NZME has told the NZ Commerce Commission that it has withdrawn its clearance application.
NZME said it is "disappointed but respects the court's decision".
"Should there be a credible buyer for Stuff who will protect jobs, newsrooms and mastheads then NZME believes this should be positive for New Zealand media.
"However, if this is not the case then NZME continues to believe that it would be best placed to sustain and support Stuff’s mastheads, newsrooms and jobs in the interests of maintaining a robust fourth estate and plurality of voice in New Zealand," NZME said in a brief statement to the ASX.
A Nine spokesman on Tuesday welcomed the court's decision, adding that it continues to "operate Stuff and work for the best outcome for our audience, our people and the wider business”.
NZME owns radio stations, regional newspapers and other media entities, while Stuff is the country’s most popular news website and its biggest employer of journalists, publishing Wellington’s Dominion Post and Christchurch’s The Press, among other titles.
Nine and previous Australian owner Fairfax have been attempting to offload Stuff for years, with the NZ Commerce Commission rejecting a merger between NZME and Stuff in 2017.
Stuff booked an underlying profit of $8m for the six months to December 31, and specific items totalling $22.6m after tax relating to discontinued operations, Nine disclosed in February.
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