Nine has confirmed the sale of the Australian Community Media and Printing business (ACM) to former Domain boss Antony Catalano and the Thorney Investment Group for $115 million.
ACM includes more than 160 regional publications, including The Canberra Times, Newcastle Herald and The Examiner.
The deal, which comes after weeks of speculation, is set to be completed by 30 June, with Nine receiving $115 million in cash, in addition to up to $10 million of advertising across ACM titles over three years.
Nine signalled it would sell the regional titles following its merger with Fairfax Media, which Catalano attempted to block at the last minute by proposing to buy a 19.9% share of the publisher.
“The sale of ACM is aligned with our strategy to exit non-core businesses and to focus on Nine’s portfolio of high-growth, digital assets,” Nine CEO Hugh Marks says.
“We will retain a commercial relationship with ACM and look forward to continuing to work with the business in areas where there are mutual benefits to both Nine and ACM.”
Marks also says it’s continuing with talks to sell another two arms of its business, Stuff and Events.
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