Vinyl Group has successfully completed the acquisition of Mediaweek, buying the assets from Chattr Pty Ltd in an Asset Sale Agreement.
As part of the completion, the Company has paid $479,140 cash ($500,000 less contracts of $20,860) to Chattr Pty Ltd and an additional $500,000 in shares valued at the fifteen (15) day Volume Weighted Average Price (VWAP) of Vinyl Group shares on the ASX for the period immediately preceding the Completion Date which is $0.09655 for a total of 5,178,624 ordinary shares. The shares will be subject to a twelve (12) month escrow from the date of issue.
Per completion deliverables, the Company has executed employment agreements with several key Mediaweek employees who will join Vinyl Group immediately to continue in their existing roles.
Former Mediaweek managing director Trent Thomas will remain with Chattr Pty Ltd and the Chattr website, the assets of which are not included in the acquisition.
Mediaweek’s unaudited revenues for the 2024 financial year amounted to $2.2M, with a proforma profit of at least $350K as Mediaweek shared costs between the Chatter platform. Vinyl Group expects to realise further and immediate profits through its integration efforts and synergies from existing capabilities within the Company.
“It’s a pleasure to welcome Mediaweek to Vinyl Group as we look to grow our trade media offering alongside The Music Network and Variety Australia. We have begun the search for a new managing editor to lead Mediaweek’s editorial, but in the meantime, I look forward to working with former publisher James Manning, who serves as acting managing editor alongside general manager Sarah Chapman and head of commercial Andrew Mulready, and the wider Mediaweek team. Now that this deal has been completed, I expect to be able to share further updates in the weeks ahead,” said Vinyl Group CEO Josh Simons.
“As Mediaweek starts a new chapter I’m pleased to be continuing my long association with the publication, continuing to work in a sector I know so well. It’s always been important to have trusted relationships with all parts of the media sector, and Vinyl Group is keen to build on those. I started my career as a music journalist so to now be part of Australia’s only ASX-listed music company, and one that works with so many great entertainment brands, makes perfect sense,” said Manning.