Singo has news for 'incompetent' Fairfax

JOHN Singleton says he will never embark on a joint venture with the "incompetent" and "out of touch" Roger Corbett and Greg Hywood.

140225b John Singleton

JOHN Singleton says he will never embark on a joint venture with the "incompetent" and "out of touch" Fairfax Media chairman Roger Corbett and chief executive Greg Hywood.

Launching a tirade against Fairfax operations, Singleton said the $200 million joint venture between Macquarie Radio Network and Fairfax Radio's stations was off -- and it had nothing to do with the attitudes of his high-profile talent Alan Jones and Ray Hadley.

"I'm a major shareholder and I will not enter into a joint venture with anyone as weak, out of touch and duplicitous as Greg Hywood, Roger Corbett and the board of Fairfax," he said.

"There have been a lot of discussions over a number of years on all this, but there will be no more. There have been lies and deceit; there has been abuse and false accusations directed at us -- and there is not going to be a deal with Fairfax Media.

"They (Fairfax) are selling all their future assets to prop up their dead assets. You have to judge things on what they are worth. 2UE is now worse than it's ever been. They have no audience in Sydney."

Singleton said three Macquarie bankers, advising for Fairfax, went to see Singleton's business partner Mark Carnegie last week to ask whether Hywood and Corbett could meet Jones and Hadley privately to "see if they got on" before making a formal public offer.

It was understood Singleton, who owns 71 per cent of Macquarie, was entertaining offers at about 10 times Macquarie's earnings. "The meeting lasted two minutes before Mark Carnegie told them . . . to go away," Singleton said.

"I thought they were all about editorial independence. But they want to see if they like you before making an offer. Who the f . . k does Roger Corbett think he is?"

Singleton angrily rejected the allegation in yesterday's Fairfax newspapers that Jones and Hadley were not prepared to be part of the proposed deal to merge the two networks.

While he had not spoken to either radio host about the potential takeover, Singleton said Jones would not have stood in the way on any deal and Hadley had no formal say in the matter.

"Neither Alan Jones nor Ray Hadley have been consulted on this matter," he says.

"I have not discussed it with them, although as an act of goodwill I would do so if I were to buy or sell radio assets they're part of."

Singleton said there had been disastrous leadership from the board of Fairfax, led by Hywood and Corbett.

"Here we have what was a No. 2 media company in Australia and we've watched it disappear before our very eyes," he said.

"We've had to put up with Fred Hilmer, Conrad Black -- and just when you think you can't make matters worse, you get Roger Corbett.

"He goes in and he hires Greg Hywood. Where from? From Tourism Victoria. And does he make a decision? No. He hires management consultants."

Singleton attacked Fairfax's business operations, saying the only decent asset they had was Domain, which Fairfax is understood to be considering floating or selling for $500 million.

He criticised The Sydney Morning Herald for having a paucity of retail advertisements in its newspaper, and predicted the Australian Financial Review would be shut within a year.

"There are third-rate wankers in charge of destroying Fairfax," Singleton said.

"They will both (Corbett and Hywood) be gone in a year.

"Roger Corbett is as dead as Fairfax as far as I'm concerned.

"I'm going to watch it (Fairfax) die slowly.

"I'll wait til they are absolutely f . . ked and buy it off the receivers."

Macquarie is strong in the Sydney market, with 2GB's ratings wiping out its commercial AM and FM rivals, including Fairfax's 2UE.