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The lengthy saga of the mega-merger of our two top news editors is heading to the High Court, not for the first time. Last time, NZME and Stuff were fighting for the right to reunite. This time, the couple is seriously estranged.
NZME’s aggressive search for rival stuff is making headlines.
Photo: screenshot / TVNZ1 News
NZME media company petitioned the High Court for a provisional injunction against Nine Entertainment in Australia, the owner of NZME’s main market rival, Stuff.
It’s about enforcing an exclusivity agreement and preventing Nine from negotiating with any other potential buyer.
It is the latest twist in what the NZME New Zealand Herald called “an increasingly bitter process” to turn the two news editors into one. Stuff’s report said he had “become septic.”
And in an article published earlier in the day, Stuff’s political editor Luke Malpass was more colorful.
“The NZME media octopus’s cautious attempt to trick Nine Entertainment into selling it for $ 1 dramatically exploded in their face,” he wrote.
“It is understood that Nine’s attitude is now that she will sell her Kiwi arm to anyone other than NZME,” he wrote.
Nine has breached the self-imposed deadlines to sell Stuff last year, and given their own Covid-powered issues, they won’t want to download Stuff for nothing if another buyer makes a better offer.
NZME’s latest move is an attempt to prevent that from happening.
When the two companies first proposed a merger in 2016, the two publishers were completely on the same page.
Its merger plan was prepared in strict secrecy and filed with coordinated statements to the New Zealand and Australian stock exchanges.
So how did it come to this?
After the competition watchdog refused to give permission for the merger in 2017, NZME and Stuff went to court together and lost, twice.
Since then, Stuff’s parent company, Fairfax Media in Australia, has been acquired by Nine Entertainment, a major media company with digital, radio and television assets more important to them than newspapers and online news in New Zealand.
NZME continued the deal and garnered the deputy prime minister’s support for a modified merger late last year. A “Kiwishare” deal proposed a combination of Stuff and NZME that was drawing the attention of local newsrooms and titles by merging the rest of its operations.
Last Monday, NZME surprised with a statement to NZX that NZME and Nine Entertainment in Australia agreed to an exclusive negotiation period on April 23 to acquire Stuff for the nominal amount of $ 1.
NZME needed government support to unlock Trade Commission opposition to the merger by the end of this month.
NZME said the savings from the combination of business operations would support “the future of New Zealand journalism by a committed and local media outlet,” he said, and “NZME … is better placed to preserve the headlines, newsrooms. and jobs. ”
To that end, NZME asked the Commission to consider their request urgently, citing Bauer Media’s collapse in March, which meant the end for many magazines.
“We are aware of what happened to Bauer Media and we are focused on saving hundreds of jobs and regional head offices that could be lost if we do not act with this urgency. Time is of the essence and we seek your urgent help to allow it to be completed. May 31 2020. “
But soon after, Nine told ASX last Monday that “his engagement with NZME had ended.”
NZME CEO Michael Boggs insisted that the exclusive trading period was still valid and binding.
Meanwhile, Stuff’s staff here were scratching their heads on the sidelines, including the high command.
“We really are not sure why NZME took this step, given the clear message from our owners that there would be no transactions,” said Stuff executive staff Sinead Boucher.
The Otago Daily Times published the cryptic title: “New Offer to Buy Stuff News from Stuff.”
A jarring but clever headline of the ODT.
Photo: RNZ Mediawatch
When asked if the two companies were communicating about this apparent impasse, the NZME spokesperson told Mediawatch that they will have “more to say at some point.”
The NZME measure is also about putting pressure on the government.
Presenting a $ 50 million targeted media assistance package released in late April, broadcasting and digital media minister Kris Faafoi said there was “a natural level of journalism function that the government wants to see.”
“The plurality of the media, the role of journalism and the preservation of as many jobs as possible are the priorities,” he told reporters.
News editors did not benefit much from the package, or from the 2020 Budget. About 450 journalists have lost their jobs since the end of March, including many at NZME.
Tomorrow a provisional mandate hearing is set up in Auckland High Court.
NZME’s annual shareholder meeting, to be held online on June 11, will also be interesting.
The NZME board is seeking shareholder approval “before proceeding with any action (costing more than $ 1 million, including legal fees) to acquire Stuff.”
Given the time and money already spent on lawyers and court cases, that support cannot be taken for granted.
