Arthur Laundy buys radio stations for $56 million
Nine Entertainment has struck a deal to sell Australia’s top conservative talkback stations 2GB, 3AW, 4BC and 6PR to publican and slots billionaire Arthur Laundy and his family for $56 million; This marks a major transition in Australia’s media landscape.
The company also acquired outdoor media company QMS for $850 million, using proceeds from the recent sale of digital real estate company Domain, according to a release to the market on Friday morning.
Nine’s directors met for its annual board meeting in Melbourne on Thursday and approved the sale of the stations, which have unrivaled influence over politicians and business but whose clout and financial clout has waned, as well as the purchase of QMS. And in the next move, Nine has spun off its wholly owned Northern NSW television channel NBN, which will now be an affiliate station owned by partner WIN Network.
Multiple sources with knowledge of the sales process, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the talkback stations were a key part of Nine’s strategy to offer advertisers a full suite of media channels to reach their customers, but were ultimately out of sync with the rest of the business.
Chief Executive Matt Stanton said: “These transactions will create a more efficient, higher growth and digitally empowered Nine group for our consumers, advertisers, shareholders and employees. This will position Nine well for the future, enabling the group to withstand industry disruption and deliver long-term sustainable value to our shareholders.”
Arthur Laundy’s fortune is 1.75 billion dollars AFR Rich List, He made his fortune through an extensive network of pubs in New South Wales.
His Breakfast And Morning Shows in Melbourne and Sydney, featuring the likes of Ben Fordham, Russel Howcroft and Ross Stevenson, Tom Elliott and Mark Levy, still claim hundreds of thousands of listeners each week and can drive the daily news cycle.
In the latest radio ratings survey for 2025, 2GB was named Sydney’s top station by SmoothFM, but 3AW remained number one in Melbourne.
Laundy’s son, former Liberal MP Craig, has a 2GB weekly slot To spread Show with Clinton Maynard.
A number of potential buyers have emerged in the media but only a small number have been seriously considered by Nine, including a well-publicised bid from Craig Hutchison-led Sports Entertainment Group.
While the sale price Nine paid in 2019 for the remaining 45.5 per cent of stations it did not own was well below the $113.9 million, Nine was seeking around $50 million. The acquisition of what was then Macquarie Media valued the radio network, home to Alan Jones and Ray Hadley, at $275.4 million.
Nine, which sold Domain Group to American digital property listing company CoStar in August, will be a significantly smaller business in 2026, with its broadcasting assets (including this imprint), free-to-air network, online streaming platform 9Now and premium streaming service Stan. But it is supported by QMS.
Nine spun off its radio division into a standalone business earlier in the year, officially starting the sales process for its radio networks in late 2025.
While 2GB and 3AW are regularly top-rated stations in Australia’s two largest radio markets, the conservative-leaning talkback stations’ advertising budgets have been reduced and the audio division’s revenue and earnings have suffered as a result.
The division will account for just two per cent of Nine’s EBITDA in 2025, with revenues also down two per cent to $101 million.
More to come.
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Calum Jaspan is a media writer for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, based in Melbourne. Reach him securely on Signal @calumjaspan.10Connect with: X or email.
