Nine sells its sprawling radio empire – as surprising dark horse pub baron emerges as secret buyer
Nine Entertainment has sold its radio stations, with billionaire pub baron Arthur Laundy rumoured to be the surprise buyer.
The finer details of the sale remain confidential, though Nine’s newspaper arm confirmed on Thursday evening that a deal had been reached to offload the business.
Speculation has been rife in recent months about potential suitors for the stations, which include 2GB in Sydney, 3AW in Melbourne, 4BC in Brisbane and 6PR in Perth.
Nine chief executive Matt Stanton revealed back in September that the network had received a ‘number of unsolicited inquiries about our radio business’.
Among the parties mentioned to be eyeing a deal were Australian Digital Holdings, John Singleton, Sports Entertainment Network and The Fordham Company, run by Nick Fordham who is the brother of 2GB heavyweight Ben Fordham.
The pub baron seems to have gone under the radar, however, with no mention of him in media coverage about the sale.
Laundy is one of the country’s richest men with a fortune estimated to be worth $1.75billion, made through his network of pubs and hospitality venues grown over decades from his father’s first pub, the Sackville Hotel in Rozelle.
His son, Stu Laundy, runs a large part of the business and found fame after his appearance on season 3 of The Bachelorette.
Ben Fordham currently hosts 2GB’s top rating breakfast show in Sydney
Mark Levy (left) took over from talkback veteran Ray Hadley on the 2GB Mornings slot last year
The purchase is a rare one for the Laundy’s outside the hospitality arena.
It is the second major sale Nine Entertainment has made in the last 12 months after selling its 60 per cent stake in real estate website Domain to US-based CoStar in August for more than a billion dollars.
Its understood the radio division sale was approved by the company’s board during their annual meeting in Melbourne on Thursday and will be formally announced on the ASX on Friday.
