ACM announces $100m JV with realestateview.com.au, ending relationship with Domain
Australian Community Media (ACM) has announced an in-principle agreement with real estate listing platform realestateview.com.au which will see the two form a new joint venture with ACM as the majority shareholder.
The JV will see the two companies collectively invest more than $100m into a ‘market-leading, multi-faceted property media, agency services and data business’ over five years.
Realestateview.com.au will be the lead consumer-facing brand of the JV and today ACM will roll it out across its 130 print and digital assets that feature property sections, replacing the Domain brand.
ACM CEO, and former Domain boss, Antony Catalano, said the JV marks an important point in the ongoing success of ACM.
“The move is a key strategic piece of our real estate digital media plan. With majority ownership in the JV we can now look to fast-track the realestateview.com.au business by enabling it through all parts of the ACM business including editorial, marketing and of course a combined national sales force that will sell our integrated property marketing solution,” said Catalano.
“We’ve proven through our regional pilots that by combining ACM’s publishing assets with the Today Acquire digital marketing tool and a listing on realestateview.com.au, we are able to reach buyers more effectively at all stages along the path to purchase and then nurture those leads through to agents and vendors.
“When Alex Waislitz and I bought ACM, we came with a commitment to invest and grow. COVID hasn’t made things easy but we’ve worked hard with the executive team and we’re now seeing the plan come together as we look to evolve into a digitally-led media business with many strings to our bow.
“Our push more aggressively into the property space and in particular into digital solutions provides a broader and more sustainable revenue base, which will enable us to continue to grow and invest in not only the communities we operate in, but we’ll be doing our bit to keep journalism funded and alive in Australia.”
Realestateview.com.au has gone through a period of significant change over the past two years under the leadership of CEO Toby Balazs. The former REA executive has looked to rejuvenate the business and set it up for future growth.
With a new executive team, Balazs has led a successful capital raise, a migration to a completely new technology platform, partnerships with businesses like ACM and Apartment Developments as well as a content deal with Corelogic. The business says these changes have helped drive audience growth of more than 40% year-on-year pre-COVID-19.
“This is the shot in the arm we’ve been planning for and I couldn’t be happier to see it come to fruition. To have the strength of the ACM business now behind us and to have our brand featured strong and bold across the country we now have the platform to grow the business, build audiences and most importantly deliver results for our agent partners and vendors alike,” Balazs said.
“With a 20-year history and industry support, we are the trusted source for property, and we look forward to sharing this with the rest of the country.”
As part of the initial integration ACM’s chief marketing officer, Paul Tyrrell, now operates as CMO for both businesses.
“It’s exciting to bring these two businesses together from a brand and marketing perspective. We know from experience that combining publishing assets with a real estate portal provides a platform for significant growth in audiences and importantly, more sales leads for our real estate partners,” he said.
“It’s now up to the ACM and REV marketing teams to leverage our collective assets and work with our strategic partners such as The Today Business to drive awareness and penetration of the REV brand across the country.”
Catalano added: “These are exciting times for ACM and our associated businesses as we look to reinvent and reshape our business for long-term sustainable growth.”
Have more information on the article? Want to share an opinion? Just want to reach out? Email Hannah on hannah@mumbrella.com.au or get in touch via LinkedIn.
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topics
ACM
Alex Waislitz
Antony Catalano
Australian Community Media
Domain
Paul Tyrell
realestateview.com.au
Toby Balazs
