newy.com.au – Nine Entertainment shareholders have voted overwhelmingly to approve the sale of Newcastle-based NBN Television and Nine’s Darwin station to WIN Television Network, clearing the way for a significant change in regional television ownership. TV Tonight and AdNews reported the result after Nine’s ASX update showed 99.82 per cent of votes cast were in favour of the transaction, with 0.18 per cent against.
The vote was held at a general meeting on Thursday, with shareholders asked to approve the sale of NBN Enterprises Pty Ltd and Television Holdings Pty Ltd to WIN. NBN operates Nine’s regional free-to-air television station across northern NSW and the Gold Coast, including Newcastle, while Television Holdings owns the Darwin operation.
For Hunter viewers, the deal means NBN will move from being wholly owned by Nine to being owned and operated by WIN as a Nine affiliate. Nine has told shareholders the existing programming arrangements will continue after the sale, with Nine content, including news and sport, to keep being broadcast in northern NSW and Darwin for at least five years.
In material sent to shareholders, Nine said NBN was headquartered in Newcastle and employed 87 full-time equivalent staff, while the Darwin station employed 16 full-time equivalent staff.
The NBN broadcast area includes Newcastle, the Central Coast, Coffs Harbour, Tamworth, Lismore, Tweed Heads and the Gold Coast.
Nine’s notice to shareholders listed cash payments of $14.8 million for NBN Enterprises and $500,000 for Television Holdings, subject to adjustments. In Thursday’s chair address, Nine said the transaction would deliver $20.5 million in cash proceeds, along with an expected cash tax benefit of about $100 million, which it said would be used to reduce external debt.
The transaction required shareholder approval because WIN is ultimately owned by Bruce Gordon, whose associated entity Birketu is a substantial shareholder in Nine. Nine said that made the sale a substantial asset transaction under ASX rules. An independent expert found the transaction fair and reasonable, and Nine’s independent directors recommended shareholders vote in favour.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has already approved the transaction, leaving the shareholder vote as the final approval needed before completion, which Nine expects in early June.
The sale is part of a broader reshaping of Nine’s business. In January, the company announced a strategic shift that included buying digital outdoor media group QMS, selling its broadcast radio assets and converting NBN from a wholly owned business to a WIN-operated affiliate. Nine said at the time the changes were aimed at focusing the company on metropolitan markets, digital growth and a more diversified revenue base.
