Seven West’s News bid delayed

The ACCC has postponed its decision on the deal as the media groups request more time.

The consumer watchdog has delayed a verdict on Seven West Media’s proposed purchase of News Corporation’s The Sunday Times newspaper and PerthNow website after the parties requested more time to detail their case.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is now slated to declare a judgment on August 4, one week later than the initial timeline.

As first reported in The Australian, the deal will see Seven West – which owns The West Australian newspaper – expand its publication schedule to seven days a week through the addition of the once a week Sunday Times to its stable.

The two operations are the only major newspapers published in Perth.

Seven West will also secure control of news website PerthNow.

It is believed the final sale price will be between $12 million and $15m.

The agreement also includes a news content sharing plan between The West Australian and News’ dailies in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.

In announcing the deal in May, Seven West boss Tim Worner said it was a necessary move to help fend off new online rivals, which is likely to be at the heart of its defence against claims it may lessen competition in the WA media market.

“This proposed acquisition will allow our company to be in a stronger position to compete with the increasing presence of global content and platform businesses in the delivery of news and information,” he said.

The firm also looked to allay potential ACCC worries about the competitive impact by saying the move to a seven day a week publishing schedule would benefit advertisers, while expansion of printing operations could also be on the cards.

The once a week publishing of The Sunday Times is also considered to be unsustainable and may factor into the ACCC’s decision.