Seven West Media confirms intention to buy News Corp’s The Sunday Times
Seven West Media has confirmed it is in negotiations to acquire The Sunday Times and Perth Now from News Corp, a move which would unite the Sunday paper with the daily West Australian.
The deal will be subject to regulatory approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) as it will see both of Perth’s newspapers consolidated under one owner.
As part of the agreement, the two companies plan to implement a news content sharing agreement for The West Australian with News’ daily brands in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.
Tim Worner, the CEO and managing director of Seven West Media, said: “We have always had a strong commitment to Western Australia with Channel Seven Perth and The West Australian and our digital platforms and we are looking to strengthen that commitment.
“We see the potential for a positive and growing future for The Sunday Times brand, which has been and will continue to be part of the fabric of this great state.
“Importantly, this proposed acquisition will allow our company to be in a stronger position to compete with the increasing presence of global content and platform businesses in the delivery of news and information. The agreement will also deliver benefits to advertisers – with planned efficiencies in our sales operation covering seven days of publishing and delivering better solutions for our clients, coupled with News representing The West and The Sunday Times alongside their existing brands in other markets.”
In a release filed on the ASX this morning, Seven West Media (ASX:SWM) said it expects the investment to be earnings accretive in its first year and to increase shareholder value for Seven West Media.
Miranda Ward worked for Mumbrella from 2013 to 2017, eventually becoming deputy editor. Miranda joined Mumbrella in September 2013 from Sky News.
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Pssst. I think the headline should say “News Corp’s”.
Either that or SWM might just be trying to be generous and buy News Corp something they already have.
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Hi The Pedant,
Thanks for that – I’ve just fixed the headline!
Cheers,
Miranda – Mumbrella