Vinyl Group to buy Val Morgan Digital

Nathan Jolly

March 2, 2026 9:36

Hoyts Group CEO Damian Keogh will be joining the Vinyl Group board

Vinyl Group will acquire Val Morgan Digital — the local publisher of Buzzfeed, Ladbible, PopSugar, Thrillist, and Fandom — for $10.5m in cash and shares.

The sale, announced on the ASX on Monday morning, will comprise $7m in cash, and $3.5m in shares, and will be funded by a “facility of up to $10 million provided by existing shareholders”. It is expected to complete in one month.

Val Morgan Digital is a subsidiary of private company Hoyts. According to Vinyl Group, it made $10.7m in revenue during calendar year 2025.

Vinyl Group — local licensee of Rolling Stone, Variety, and Refinery29, and owner of Media Week, The Brag, and Concrete Playground — delivered its half-year results on Friday evening, posting revenue of $11.4m for the last six months of calendar year 2025, and a net loss of $3.1m.

Read Tim Burrowes’ analysis of Vinyl’s results and its failure to break even by the end of 2025

Wisetech founder and billionaire Richard White is Vinyl’s biggest shareholder.

As part of the deal, Hoyts Group CEO and president, Damian Keogh, will join the Vinyl Group board. In addition, Vinyl Group has entered into a cooperation and services agreement with Hoyts to “cover outdoor and cinema advertising cross-sell capabilities.”

Vinyl Group CEO Josh Simons said in the market announcement this acquisition “materially enhances Vinyl Group’s scale, and consolidates our position as one of the largest and fastest growing media conglomerates in Australia.”

Keogh said the transaction “recognises the strength of consolidation, bringing the assets of Val Morgan Digital into Vinyl Group”.

“We have a large portfolio of premium cultural assets together with significant national reach, providing a unique and compelling value proposition for advertisers. I am excited to be joining the board, working with Josh and his passionate team to contribute to Vinyl Group’s next phase of growth.”

Val Morgan Digital scaled back last year, shutting down its in-house content brand The Latch.