Vinyl Group, the company that owns Brag Media, has announced that it has inked a deal to buy Mediaweek for $500,000 in cash and $500,000 in shares.
Vinyl Group will be buying the Mediaweek brand and assets from Chattr Pty Ltd, the company owned by former Mediaweek publisher Trent Thomas.
Earlier this year, a series of revelations in the Australian Financial Review emerged alleging that Thomas had bullied and sexually harassed staff. Following the revelations, it led to Mediaweek overhauling its resources policies, complaints procedures and offering additional training for staff. It was also announced that Thomas would “step back” from the publication he owned through Chattr.
Mediaweek employees were told of the sale to Vinyl Group this morning.
However, per the AFR, the deal is not a straight acquisition of Chattr. Instead, Vinyl will buy the Mediaweek brand and assets and part ways with Thomas. His shares in Vinyl will be held in escrow for 12 years.
According to Vinyl Group, “several” Mediaweek employees will join the business. Thomas will remain the owner of Chattr Pty Ltd and the Chattr website.
In the last financial year, Mediaweek recorded $2.2 million in revenue and a proforma profit of “at least” $350,000.
“Mediaweek will join Vinyl Group with a mission to accelerate our trade media and events business in Australia and improve margins across these pillars. This acquisition follows a review of our media arm earlier in the year, which identified several opportunities to enhance the efficiency and reach of these operations. Further synergies are expected to be unlocked and we look forward to announcing a managing editor of Mediaweek following completion. This strategic asset purchase demonstrates our commitment to growing our global music and media tech portfolio.”
Mediaweek’s general manager Sarah Chapman added, “The MW team is excited to be a part of the Vinyl Group family. Joining such a large portfolio of popular titles and having access to the vast resources provided by Vinyl will help us continue to grow and adapt our product to better serve our readers and clients.
“Mediaweek has evolved and grown rapidly over the last few years, and that will only continue as we invest in and grow our product to further cement our market position.”
Three days ago, Mediaweek editor Brittney Rigby announced that she had “made the difficult decision to move on” from the publication.
