Billionaire pub baron buys talkback radio stations in $56m deal
A pub baron and his family are set to become the owners of conservative agenda-setting talkback stations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.
A media giant has reached a deal to sell its national stable of talkback radio stations to a billionaire businessman and his family.
In a statement to the share market on Friday morning, Nine Entertainment announced the $56 million deal to sell off 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.
Sydney-based pub baron Arthur Laundy and his family had their offer accepted after Nine confirmed in September it had fielded “a number of unsolicited inquiries about our radio business”.
Laundy, who is in his 80s, was ranked No.94 on the AFR’s rich list in 2025 with an estimated net worth of $1.75 billion.
He took over control of the family hotel business after his father and three staff members died in a light plane crash at Wellington’s Burrendong Dam in 1969.
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The agenda-setting talkback stations have been under Nine management since the company acquired total control of Macquarie Media in 2019.
It had previously inherited an initial stake in Macquarie Media from its merger with Fairfax Media.
Nine said there were plans for Laundy to utilise Nine News journalists on radio, showcase Stan Sport through his venues and increase advertising spend on Nine properties.
The sale is expected to go through by mid-2026, subject to approval by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
In addition, Nine announced a $850 million deal to buy out-of-home media company QMS and the conversion of NBN Television from a wholly owned business to an affiliate to be owned and operated by regional partner WIN.
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The moves marked a “critical milestone” in the transformation of the company, chief executive officer Matt Stanton said.
“These transactions will create a more efficient, higher-growth, and digitally powered Nine Group for our consumers, advertisers, shareholders and people,” he said.
“This positions Nine well for the future, enabling the Group to withstand industry disruption and deliver long-term sustainable value to our shareholders.”
The acquisition of QMS from Quadrant Private Equity will diversify Nine’s revenue streams and add scale to its advertiser and agency relationships, Stanton said.
“We also see the opportunity to promote and drive subscriptions for our publishing mastheads and Stan through leveraging any excess QMS inventory,” he added.
“The QMS network will provide Nine with a branded platform to support key national news and sporting moments and serve as a public service utility for governments at all levels in times of emergency or community need.”
Nine will announce its first half result for the financial year on February 24 and told shareholders it remains committed to a dividend payout ratio of 60 to 80 per cent of net profit before specific items.
But the company warned the impact of cumulative tax losses from the transactions would likely result in unfranked interim and final dividends for this financial year, and an unfranked dividend for next financial year.
Shareholders appeared to show cautious positivity to the news when trading on the Australian Securities Exchange opened at 10am AEDT, with Nine’s share price up more than 3 per cent.
But the company share price is still 20 per cent lower than 12 months ago.
-with AAP
