Fairfax and Macquarie radio merger to complete by end of month as shareholders vote in favour
Tate
The merger of the Fairfax and Macquarie Radio Network assets should be completed by next Tuesday after shareholders gave the deal the green light at Macquarie meeting this morning.
The deal, which has been approved by two separate regulators, will see Macquarie pay Fairfax around $18m with Fairfax holding 54.5 per cent of the new entity and Macquarie the remaining 45.5 per cent. It will still be called Macquarie radio Network.
Described by Macquarie chairman Russell Tate as a “merger of equals” the deal will see Australia’s biggest talkback stations, Fairfax’s 3AW in Melbourne and Macquarie’s 2GB in Sydney, brought into the same entity called Macquarie Radio Network.
“3AW boasts popular names such as Tom Elliott, Neil Mitchell and Ross Stevenson and John Burns”..
Tom Elliot is the lowest rating on the station and hardly a “popular name”.
Fairfax in its annual report blamed a downturn in ratings and revenue on the departure of Derryn Hinch and replacing him with Elliot.
In the most recent Melbourne Radio Ratings Tom Elliott remains Number 1 so Russell Tate, Jack Sinngleton, Greg Hywood &James Millar will be happy with the result. Forgot about 2UE they will be also part of The MacQuarie Radio Network as of March 31st 2015.