Nine Entertainment’s tenure as the owner of some of Australia’s largest talkback stations will come to an end when it agrees to sell its metropolitan radio division to the Laundy Family Office for $56 million.
The agreement includes 2UE, Magic1278 and 4BH in addition to Sydney’s 2GB, Melbourne’s 3AW, Brisbane’s 4BC and Perth’s 6PR.
Nine told investors the transaction is expected to complete by the end of June, subject to approvals and customary conditions.
They said it would continue to work with the stations after the sale, including content and promotional arrangements across its wider business.
“Today’s announcements mark a critical milestone in our Nine2028 transformation,” Nine Group CEO Matt Stanton said in an ASX statement.
Arthur Laundy, the hospitality entrepreneur behind the family’s pub portfolio, will take control through the Laundy Family Office.
The push into radio has been spearheaded by his son Craig Laundy, a former federal MP who is currently active in the family business.
“We see strong similarities between hotels and talkback radio,” Craig said in a statement.
The price is significantly less than what the radio assets were worth when Nine fully acquired the then Macquarie Media group in 2019.
Underscoring the strain on legacy broadcast companies as consumers become more dispersed and advertisers move their budgets online and into newer formats.
Nine’s radio exit was announced alongside a separate move to buy out of home advertising group QMS Media for $850 million underscoring the company’s focus on digital advertising and subscriptions.
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Radio also announced changes to its regional television business such as switching NBN, a station in northern NSW, to an affiliate model under longstanding partner WIN.
Nine shares saw a sharp increase following the announcements, as markets applauded the strategic reset.
