 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| ASX: AEO | |
| Industry | Broadcast media |
| Founded | 1980; 45 years ago (1980) inAdelaide, Australia |
| Founder | Paul Thompson |
| Defunct | 21 July 2011 (2011-07-21) |
| Fate | Acquired bySouthern Cross Media Group |
| Successor | Southern Cross Austereo |
| Headquarters | , |
Key people | |
| Products | |
| Website | austereo |
Austereo was anAustralianmass media company based inMelbourne. It was founded in 1980 byPaul Thompson, and operated 16 radio stations in metropolitan and regional Australia under theToday Network andTriple M brands. In 2011, the company's majority shareholderVillage Roadshow sold its shareholding toSouthern Cross Media Group, which began trading asSouthern Cross Austereo from 21 July.[1][2]
The company was founded by broadcasterPaul Thompson, who upon the commencement ofFM broadcasting in Australia acquired the firstcommercial radio licence for the metropolitanAdelaide area.SAFM commenced transmission in September 1980, with theAustereo Network established in 1986 following the company's acquisition ofFox FM Melbourne.
In 1988, Austereo acquired FM104.7 and 2CA in Canberra[3] as well as 4BK Brisbane and6IX Perth. The company then bid to convert the BK and IX stations to the FM band. In Brisbane, the company was successful, relaunching 4BK asB105 FM in February 1990; in Perth, the company was outbid by6KY and6PM, and consequently sold the station toRadio West. In May 1989, the company extended its reach into Sydney with the acquisition of2Day FM.
In 1995, Austereo purchased theTriple M network fromHoyts Media, adding a further five radio stations to the company's portfolio. The existing Austereo stations were rebranded to theToday Network. Subsequently, rival cinema chainVillage Roadshow acquired control of Austereo, with Thompson departing asCEO.
On 22 January 1996, Austereo purchased KOFM and NXFM in Newcastle from Radio Newcastle Pty Ltd. Austereo would go on to sell 50% of its stake in these stations toRG Capital.[4]
In March 1997 Austereo's managing director, Mr Peter Harvie, announced the network would be entering a joint venture with ARN to effectively amalgamate FM104.7 and Mix 106 in Canberra. Under competition laws, Austereo was required to sell 2CA, with Harvie commenting the station would be 'disposed of immediately'.[5] At the time, Harvie stated that the deal was peculiar to the Canberra market and the company had 'no intention' of implementing similar ventures in other capitals.
In September 1997 the ACCC ruled in favour of Austereo's acquisition Perth's highest rating radio stations ofPMFM and94.5FM fromJack Bendat, sellingTriple M Perth toSouthern Cross Broadcasting. The ACCC required that the new owners of Triple M change the call sign, with Austereo retaining the right to rebrand either of its new stations to Triple M.[6] This finally occurred when the 92.9 FM frequency (originally PMFM) was rebranded toTriple M Perth in December 2020.
Village Roadshow partially floated the company on theAustralian Securities Exchange in 2001 under theticker symbolAEO, increasing its share in the company to 61.8% in 2004.[7] In January 2011, industry publicationRadioinfo reported Village Roadshow were "in discussions" to sell its majority shareholding in Austereo. On 31 January,Southern Cross Media Group announced it had offered to purchase Village Roadshow's 52.5% shareholding for $741 million.[8] The bid was approved by theAustralian Competition & Consumer Commission on 18 March[9] and formally accepted by Village Roadshow later that month.[10][11]
On 6 April, Austereo shareholders accepted the takeover bid,[12] and on 27 July Southern Cross Media Group commenced trading asSouthern Cross Austereo, merging the Today and Triple M radio networks with the group's regional radio stations.[1][2]