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Kyle and Jackie O chase ARN for twice its value

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Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 1-Apr-26

The market capitalisation of listed radio stations group ARN Media has fallen by more than 75 per cent over the last three years, to just $73.5m. In contrast, former KIIS FM breakfast show hosts Kyle Sandilands and Jackie Henderson are suing ARN for a combined $167m. The latter contends that she had been unfairly sacked after advising ARN that she could no longer work with Sandilands on the long-running Kyle & Jackie O Show. ARN has indicated that it will defend the claim, and says it is too soon to estimate the potential financial impact of the legal proceedings. ARN’s shares closed 19 per cent lower to $0.235 on Tuesday.

CORPORATES
ARN MEDIA LIMITED – ASX A1N, KIIS1065

ABC slightly sweetens its pay offer to staff

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Original article by James Madden
The Australian – Page: 5 : 1-Apr-26

Jocelyn Gammie from the Community & Public Sector Union says it will recommend that members vote in favour of a revised pay offer from the ABC. The improved pay deal has also been welcomed by the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance, a week after members of the two unions staged a 24-hour strike at the public broadcaster. The ABC has proposed a pay rise of 10.5 per cent over three years, which represents an 0.5 per cent improvement on its initial offer; however, the broadcaster has removed a $1,000 bonus from the negotiating table.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, COMMUNITY AND PUBLIC SECTOR UNION, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE

ACM staff pass vote of no confidence in Catalano after assault charges

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Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 18-Mar-26

Australian Community Media held an all-company meeting yesterday afternoon, in the wake of assault charges against joint owner Antony Catalano. Sources have indicated that 30 employees voted in favour of a motion of ‘no confidence’ in Catalano, although only 49 people voted. ACM employees had attended a town hall meeting on Monday, with MD Tony Kendall stressing that Catalano has "almost no involvement" in the regional newspaper publisher’s day-to-day operations; he added that the allegations will not affect the company or force it to be sold. Catalano and Alex Waislitz bought ACM from Nine Entertainment Company in 2019 for $125m.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY MEDIA PTY LTD,NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC

‘Serious misconduct’: Kyle taken off air

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Original article by Steve Jackson, Stephen Rice, Samina Rahkshani
The Australian – Page: 7 : 4-Mar-26

ARN Media has suspended controversial broadcaster Kyle Sandilands after KIIS FM co-host Jackie ‘O’ Henderson advised that she cannot continue to work with him. The popular Kyle and Jackie O show has been put on hold for two weeks, and most of its production staff have been told not to come into the studio today. The breakfast duo fell out after an on-air dispute in late February, and ARN has told Sandilands that his behaviour was an "act of serious misconduct" that breached of his service agreement; he has been given 14 days to remedy the breach or have his contract terminated.

CORPORATES
ARN MEDIA LIMITED – ASX A1N, KIIS1065

News Corp CEO predicts record 2026 profit

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Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 4-Mar-26

News Corporation’s CEO Robert Thomson says the global media group posted record profits in the last financial year and is on track to do the same again this year. He notes that News Corp has also recorded year-on-year earnings growth for 11 consecutive quarters. Thomson also says that News Corp is now essentially an ‘input’ company for artificial intelligence platforms, while the media group will become a ‘launch partner’ for OpenAI when it begins to sell advertisements via its ChatGPT platform. News Corp is keen to establish more partnerships in the sector, but Thomson says it will pursue legal action for unauthorised use of its content by AI platforms.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, OPENAI INCORPORATED

Rio Tinto fights shareholder over NT uranium site

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 4-Mar-26

Zentree Investments is the second-largest shareholder in Energy Resources of Australia. It contends that Rio Tinto’s takeover offer for ERA of $0.02 per share undervalues the former uranium miner, which ceased production at the Ranger mine in 2021; Zentree estimates that ‘fair value’ would be around $0.3102 per share. Rio Tinto values ERA’s undeveloped Jabiluka uranium deposit at zero because it does not think the traditional owners would allow it be mined; however, Zentree argues that the Mirarr people do not have the right to veto development of Jabiluka, and any future owner of the project would not be bound by ERA’s pledge to not undertake mining without the consent of the Mirrar.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, ENERGY RESOURCES OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX ERA, ZENTREE INVESTMENTS

AI deals a Labor ‘priority’: Nine

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Original article by Zoe Samios
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 25-Feb-26

Nine Entertainment Company has posted a 2025-26 interim net profit of $81.4m, which is 42 per cent higher than previously. Group revenue was down four per cent at $1.1bn, while its TV division’s revenue was 14 per cent lower at $508.2m. The Stan streaming video platform’s revenue rose 15 per cent to $282.7m, while the publishing division’s revenue was down two per cent at $262.2m. Meanwhile, CEO Matt Stanton is confident that the federal government will support the media sector’s push to secure increased payments from technology companies for using their content to train AI models.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC

Queensland private coal miner joins state’s royalties graveyard

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: 13 & 14 : 25-Feb-26

Privately-owned coal miner Vitrinite has been placed in the hands of voluntary administrators from Cor Cordis and receivers from KordaMentha. Vitrinite’s assets include the Vulcan coking coal mine in Queensland’s Bowen Basin. A spokesperson for KordaMentha says it will shortly begin the process of selling or recapitalising Vitrinite’s assets. Vitrinite’s collapse has put further scrutiny on the Queensland government’s controversial coal royalty regime, which it inherited from the former Labor government and has refused to change.

CORPORATES
VITRINITE PTY LTD, COR CORDIS PTY LTD, KORDA MENTHA AND COLLEAGUES PTY LTD

Coles concedes mistake in discounting item to make it more expensive after a week

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Original article by Elias Visontay
The Age – Page: Online : 18-Feb-26

The Federal Court has been told that consumers understand that grocery prices will change in a high-inflation environment. Coles Group’s lead barrister John Sheahan addressed the court on the second day of the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s case against the supermarket giant over alleged ‘sham’ price discounts. He contended that shelf tickets with a ‘was/is’ price are a legitimate sign of "good value today" for a specific product, and that the ‘Down, Down’ campaign was a broader indication that Coles was trying to keep prices low rather than advertising a specific discount. Sheahan also said Coles has acknowledged that one of the products that attracted the ACCC’s scrutiny should not have beeen added to the ‘Down, Down’ promotion only a week after a large price rise.

CORPORATES
COLES GROUP LIMITED – ASX COL, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Lithium boss urges West to instate price floor after landmark deal

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Original article by Mark Wembridge
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 11-Feb-26

PLS Group has secured a two-year offtake agreement with China-based Canmax Technologies for the suppy of spodumene concentrate. PLS will supply Canmax with 150,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate over two years, with an option to extend the deal for a further 12 months. The agreement includes a guaranteed floor price of $US1,000 per tonne, and CEO Dale Henderson has urged Western governments to consider implementing a floor price for lithium, as well as other incentives. The price of six per cent spodumene rose to more than $US2,000 per tonne in early 2026, compared with just $US575 per tonne in mid-2025.

CORPORATES
PLS GROUP LIMITED – ASX PLS, CANMAX TECHNOLOGIES COMPANY LIMITED