Nine to sell talkback radio station stable to pub baron
A media giant has reached an agreement to sell its national talkback radio stations to a billionaire businessman and his family.
In a statement to the share market on Friday morning, Nine Entertainment announced a $56 million deal to sell 2GB Sydney, 3AW Melbourne, 4BC Brisbane, 6PR Perth and 2UE Adelaide.
Nine’s other commercial radio assets, Magic1278 and 4BH, will also be under new management.
The offer from Sydney-based pub baron Arthur Laundy and his family was accepted after Nine confirmed in September it had led to “a number of unwelcome inquiries into our radio business”.
Mr Laundy, who is in his 80s, was ranked 94th on the AFR’s 2025 rich list, with an estimated net worth of $1.75 billion.
He took over control of the family hotel business in 1969 after his father and three employees died in a light aircraft crash at Wellington’s Burrendong Dam.
The agenda-setting talkback stations have been under Nine management since the company acquired full control of Macquarie Media in 2019.
It had previously acquired an initial stake in Macquarie Media from its merger with Fairfax Media.
Nine said Mr Laundy had plans to use Nine News journalists on radio, showcase Stan Sport in its own venues and increase advertising spend across Nine properties.
The sale is expected to take place by mid-2026, subject to approval by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
In addition, Nine announced an $850 million deal to acquire out-of-home media company QMS and the conversion of NBN Television from a wholly owned business to a subsidiary owned and operated by regional partner WIN.
Chief executive Matt Stanton said the moves were a “critical turning point” in the company’s transformation.
“These transactions will create a more efficient, higher growth and digitally supported Nine Group for our consumers, advertisers, shareholders and people,” he said.
“This positions Nine well for the future, ensuring the Group is resilient to industry disruption and delivers long-term sustainable value to our shareholders.”
Mr Stanton said the acquisition of QMS from Quadrant Private Equity would diversify Nine’s revenue streams and add scale to its advertiser and agency relationships.
“We also see the opportunity to incentivize and increase subscriptions for our publishing mastheads and Stan by leveraging excess QMS inventory,” he added.
“The QMS network will provide Nine with a branded platform to support key national news and sports highlights and serve as a public service tool for governments at all levels in times of emergency or community need.”
Nine is due to announce its first-half results for the financial year on February 24 and has told shareholders it is sticking to a dividend payout ratio of 60 to 80 per cent of net profit before certain items.
However, the company warned that the impact of cumulative tax losses from the transactions would likely result in unvested interim and final dividends for this financial year and unvested dividends for the next financial year.
Shareholders were cautiously positive about the news, with Nine’s share price rising more than 3 per cent when trading opened on the Australian Securities Exchange at 10am (AEDT).
But the company’s share price is still 20 percent lower than it was 12 months ago.
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