Southern Cross CEO leaves the door wide open to deal with Nine
The Triple M owner's boss John Kelly said he believes media consolidation is required and will happen as the company itself was linked with a possible tie-up.
Southern Cross Austereo CEO John Kelly has described further consolidation in Australia’s media industry as inevitable as fresh intrigue over a possible deal with Nine Entertainment helped lift the audio company’s share price to its highest levels in more than a year.
The ASX-listed audio company, which owns the 2DayFM and TripleM radio stations, reported a 5% revenue lift to $421.9 million for the 2025 fiscal year, and net profit after tax of $15.1 million, up $10.6 million on the previous year.
Southern Cross has reportedly been approached by executives at Nine over a possible deal involving the two companies, The Australian reported on Monday, following the closure of CoStar’s $3 billion acquisition of Domain. Nine is set to cash in its 60% stake in Domain for about $1.4 billion.
Kelly, speaking to Capital Brief after the result, would not be drawn on the reported approach.
