Australia: Fairfax buys regional paper

Posted by Diana Epstein on May 4, 2006 at 3:49 PM

Australian publisher Fairfax, spending $155 million, has bought the Albury-Wodonga daily newspaper, The Border Mail. The paper will also give Fairfax a 51% stake in a state-of-the-art printing press that specializes in short-run newspaper publications.

Other publishers were interested in the acquisition, including Rural Press, which is believed to have offered $120 million, and Herald Sun publisher News Limited, APN News & Media and a bank.

The deal represented "further strategic growth for Fairfax's regional publishing businesses,” said new Fairfax boss David Kirk.

According to briefing notes accompanying the announcement, the acquisition will give Fairfax a foothold in "one of the largest regional economies in southeastern Australia" with a total gross regional product estimated to be worth $2.5 billion.

This is Mr.Kirk's first print acquisition. Earlier this year, Fairfax purchased a New Zealand Internet auction site, Trade Me, for $625 million and holiday booking site Stayz Australia. Extending into both the Internet and regional print, Fairfax is heading in the direction many papers are going. Also, investing in regional press will loosen up dependence on metropolitan titles such as The Sydney Morning Herald and Melbourne's The Age.

Source: Herald Sun [Through the Ifra Executive News Service] and The Australian

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