Fairfax Media is on a spending spree, recently acquiring the final 50 per cent of the issued shares in Metro Media Publishing Holdings (MMPH). MMPH currently owns 15 weekly real estate and lifestyle-focused magazines and newspapers within Victoria, as well as reviewproperty.com.au.
In explaining the acquisition, Fairfax CEO and managing director Greg Hywood says it was a natural next step for the company. “Domain is continuing its aggressive national expansion. The consolidation of the balance of the equity in MMPH simplifies the operations of our fast-growing property services businesses, which have more than $300m in real estate revenue,” Hywood tells mUmBRELLA.
“MMPH reaches one million households in Melbourne and Geelong every week via The Weekly Review magazines and Star Weekly newspapers and operates Melbourne’s fastest growing property portal, review.property.com.au.”
Since the MMPH joint venture was formed in December 2011, it has increased from $4 million in the 2012 financial year to $14 million in the 2014 financial year, with the venture on target for strong growth in 2015.
The acquisition follows Fairfax’s merger with Macquarie Radio Network late last year.
Image: Fairfax Media Limited.
