NEWSPAPER PUBLISHING – AUSTRALIA

Bolton backs Cat’s bid to halt Fairfax deal

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 17 & 28 : 27-Nov-18

Nine Entertainment Company and Fairfax Media will seek final approval by the Federal Court for their proposed merger on 27 November. It has been revealed that businessman Nick Bolton is one of the financial backers of a legal challenge to the merger that has been launched by former Domain CEO Antony Catalano. Bolton has a 49 per cent stake in Aurora Funds Management, which will join Catalano in his bid to block the deal. More than 81 per cent of Fairfax shareholders had voted in favour of the merger.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AURORA FUNDS MANAGEMENT LIMITED, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, BRISCONNECTIONS UNIT TRUSTS, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, AUSTRALIAN STYLE INVESTMENTS PTY LTD, THIESS JOHN HOLLAND, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, MACQUARIE MEDIA LIMITED – ASX MRN, 2GB, 3AW SOUTHERN CROSS RADIO PTY LTD

Fairfax or Ten: who’s the BOSS?

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Original article by Nick Tabakoff
The Australian – Page: 27 : 26-Nov-18

Fairfax Media is taking legal action against the Ten Network over the latter’s recently-launched 10 BOSS multi-channel. Fairfax claims that it breaches the trademark of "BOSS" magazine, which is a monthly insert of "The Australian Financial Review". One intellectual property lawyer suggests that the action against Ten may be prompted by a desire by Nine Entertainment to use the BOSS brand across a wider range of media outlets following its merger with Fairfax.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC

Catalano reveals plans for $800m Fairfax asset sales

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Original article by John Stensholt
The Australian – Page: 17 & 27 : 22-Nov-18

Former Domain CEO Antony Catalano has outlined his strategy for Fairfax Media if his legal challenge to its merger with Nine Entertainment Company succeeds. Catalano has proposed to divest the bulk of Fairfax’s assets, allowing it to focus on core assets such as its metropolitan mastheads and its controlling stake in Domain. Amongst other things, Catalano estimates that streaming video service Stan could fetch around $300m and Fairfax’s stake in Macquarie Media could be sold for at least $180m.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, MACQUARIE MEDIA LIMITED – ASX MRN, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, THORNEY OPPORTUNITIES LIMITED – ASX TOP, THORNEY TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED – ASX TEK, UPDATER INCORPORATED

Court action looms after Fairfax shareholders vote for Nine merger

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Original article by
The New Daily – Page: Online : 20-Nov-18

Former Domain CEO Anthony Catalano has indicated that he will challenge the Nine Entertainment Company-Fairfax Media merger in court after 81.49 per cent of Fairfax shareholders voted in favour of the deal. Catalano had failed in a bid to have the shareholder vote delayed for two weeks to allow the Fairfax board to consider his alternative proposal. The merger will reduce the number of major media companies in Australia from five to four.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, MACQUARIE MEDIA LIMITED – ASX MRN, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Antony Catalano in dramatic bid to scupper Nine, Fairfax merger

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Original article by John McDuling, Jennifer Duke
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 19-Nov-18

Domain’s former CEO Antony Catalano has asked Fairfax Media chairman Nick Falloon to adjoin the 19 November shareholders’ vote on the proposed merger with Nine Entertainment Company. The scrip component of Nine’s offer is 0.3627 per share; Catalano says this means it is a "terrible deal" given that Fairfax is trading at $0.61 per share, compared with $0.94 when the deal was announced. Catalano has also told Falloon that he may seek to buy up to 19.9 per cent of Fairfax shares at above market prices in order to block the deal. He holds stakes of about one per cent in both Fairfax and Domain.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, THORNEY INVESTMENT GROUP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Fairfax within reach as Nine sticks to script

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 17 & 21 : 15-Nov-18

Shareholders at Nine Entertainment Company’s AGM have been told that it will be better placed to compete with digital giants for advertising revenue if the merger with Fairfax Media proceeds. Nine chairman Peter Costello and CEO Hugh Marks expect Fairfax shareholders to approve the deal on 19 November, saying the feedback from Fairfax directors and investors has been positive. Costello has also stressed that Nine will retain all of Fairfax’s brands. Meanwhile, Nine has advised that it still expects 2018-19 earnings to be within the range of $280m to $300m.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, MACQUARIE MEDIA LIMITED – ASX MRN, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, OWNERSHIP MATTERS PTY LTD, CGI GLASS LEWIS PTY LTD, INSTITUTIONAL SHAREHOLDER SERVICES INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN SHAREHOLDERS’ ASSOCIATION, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED

Nine-Fairfax deal has investor support

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 34 : 12-Nov-18

Fairfax Media’s merger with Nine Entertainment Company will require the support of at least 75 per cent of votes cast at the newspaper publisher’s meeting of shareholders on 19 November. The Australian Council of Superannuation Investors and leading proxy advisors are said to support the merger, although the proposed deal has been criticised by the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance. The merger is also subject to approval by the Federal Court.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF SUPERANNUATION TRUSTEES, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, CGI GLASS LEWIS PTY LTD, OWNERSHIP MATTERS PTY LTD, INSTITUTIONAL SHAREHOLDER SERVICES INCORPORATED, MARTIN CURRIE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Fairfax, Nine deal set to get the nod

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 19 : 8-Nov-18

Brian Han of Morningstar expects the proposed merger between Nine Entertainment Company and Fairfax Media to receive regulatory approval on 8 November. Han says the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission is likely to take into account the impact of digital on traditional media when deciding whether to approve the $4bn deal. Nine Entertainment posted a 2017-18 net profit of $209.7m, while Fairfax made a loss of $63.8m.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, MORNINGSTAR PTY LTD, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, MST MARQUEE, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, MACQUARIE MEDIA LIMITED – ASX MRN, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED

Seven and News explore co-pros and marketing

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 22-Oct-18

Seven West Media and News Corp Australia have a history of co-productions and marketing initiatives, and they are looking at further projects in these areas. A spokesperson for Seven notes that the two companies have been involved in marketing initiatives in the past, while it produced "A Place Called Home" for Foxtel for four seasons. Seven and News also work together in Western Australia, where Seven prints some of News Corp’s papers. Seven CEO Tim Worner said in August that it and News Corp would seek to strengthen their commercial ties following the announcement that Nine Entertainment would merge with Fairfax Media.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ

Fairfax’s Falloon keeps faith in Nine deal

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 19 : 16-Oct-18

Shares in Nine Entertainment Company fell 12.4 per cent to $1.84 on 12 October. Citigroup analysts say this has eliminated the merger premium for Fairfax shareholders, and they have questioned whether the deal will proceed under the agreed terms. However, Fairfax chairman Nick Falloon says the merger is still "compelling", while Fraser McLeish of MST Marquee believes that the merger is in the best interests of Fairfax shareholders.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, MST MARQUEE, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE