Fairfax and Nine are merging. Here's what the deal involves and what it will mean for you
Jul 2018
Why are Nine and Fairfax merging?
Nine and Fairfax are positioning themselves to remain profitable in a world increasingly dominated by digital media. The merger will allow them to pool assets, reduce costs and streamline management, to adapt to the changing environment. Both companies are profitable enterprises in their own right, so this merger is about ensuring their future profitability as a merged company.
What will it mean for Fairfax?
The merger means Fairfax will lose its name, which means it's the end of the road for a company which has been part of the Australian media landscape for more than a century.
Nine-Fairfax shotgun marriage Google and Facebook are taking Australian ad revenue hand over fist, and Nine's tie-up with Fairfax is a last ditch survival tactic. But its newspapers — including its main mastheads, the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, and the Australian Financial Review — are expected to continue as usual in both their printed format and online, at least for the foreseeable future.
Fairfax recently struck a deal with News Corp to share printing presses, in a move designed to extend the life of its print editions for many more years.That deal involves more than 100 job losses, but the savings of around $15 million a year will help to preserve Fairfax' newspaper operations and staff, and could stave off future job losses.
What about Domain?
Fairfax has already cast off its property portal Domain as a separate entity, although it retains 51 per cent ownership.Its majority ownership of Domain as well as other assets including its radio stations will now be owned and controlled by Nine.
Fairfax to lose its name in $4 billion takeover by Nine
Jul 2018
Fairfax and Nine have announced a $4 billion merger that will create an integrated media giant across television, online video streaming, print, digital and real estate advertising — and erase the Fairfax name.
Nine will be the dominant partner, with its current shareholders holding 51.1 per cent of the merged company's shares, and the current Nine chief executive and chairman — Hugh Marks and former federal treasurer Peter Costello, respectively — leading the combined firm, which will be called Nine.
