Southern Cross Media chairman Rob Murray makes early exit amid proposed takeover

Rob Murray has retired from his role as Southern Cross Media Group chairman six months earlier than planned amid the company’s takeover by ARN Media.

Southern Cross Media Group chairman Rob Murray. Picture: Adam Yip

Southern Cross Media Group chairman Rob Murray has retired from his role six months earlier than planned amid the company’s takeover by ARN Media.

SCA announced on Wednesday that Mr Murray has retired as chair and the company will not appoint any new directors this financial year.

The SCA board had previously appointed Heath Mackay-Cruise to succeed Mr Murray as chair.

SCA is considering a new takeover bid by the rival media company and earlier this month said it would re-engage with ARN Media and Anchorage Capital Partners to determine whether a revised offer was sufficient.

Mr Murray joined SCA as an independent non-executive director on September 1, 2014 and he was appointed as chair on August 19, 2020.

He was originally due to end his tenure no later than SCA’s annual general meeting, which will be held on October 30.

He said on Wednesday: “The Consortium’s revised proposal, which offers an increase in the total consideration for all SCA shareholders, provides an opportunity for me to bring forward my retirement.

“I am hopeful this will also help avoid the distraction and unnecessary time, cost and resources that would be required by the recent call by one of our shareholders for an extraordinary general meeting.”

Mr Mackay-Cruise thanked Mr Murray for his service and said he had been “critical to the board’s securing of a significant increase in the consideration for SCA shareholders under the Consortium’s revised indicative proposal”.

The revised offer includes 0.87 ARN Newco shares in the new entity and in addition to this a proposed 29.6 cents per share.

SCA, run by chief executive officer John Kelly, has 99 stations including the Hit Network and Triple M stations and ARN Media is headed up by CEO Ciaran Davis and owns 58 radio stations including KIIS FM and Gold.