May 25 (Reuters) - Australia-listed Nine Entertainment Co Holdings Ltd (NEC) on Monday said it had agreed to sell New Zealand-based Stuff to that company's chief executive officer for NZ$1, a week after NZME (NMZ) dropped its bid for the news website operator.
NZME, NZ's biggest media company, withdrew its offer after the Commerce Commission refused its bid for an interim injunction to force Australian broadcaster Nine back into exclusive talks.
Nine said it had sold Stuff for the same nominal amount NZME had offered to Stuff Chief Executive Officer Sinead Boucher.
Nine would retain ownership of the Petone print plant site in Wellington, which would be leased back to Stuff, and would take a hit of A$40 million to A$45 million ($26 million to $29 million) in its full-year results from the sale.
"Our plan is to transition the ownership of Stuff to give staff a direct stake in the business as shareholders," Boucher said in a statement.
The sale of Stuff, which owns popular websites and a string of newspapers, comes amid a sharp drop in advertising revenue that has caused job losses across the media industry and forced some companies to shut down operations.
Australian news agency Australian Associated Press said in March it would shut its news production and sub-editing businesses from June, while Bauer Media also announced closures of its New Zealand operations.
($1 = 1.5298 Australian dollars)
News: NEC Australia's Nine sells Stuff for NZ$1 to New Zealand media co's CEO
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