Stuff ownership to return to NZ after management buy-out

Stuff's Australian owner Nine has agreed to sell Stuff to Stuff chief executive Sinead Boucher for one dollar.

Nine said it expected to complete the sale by the end of the month.

Nine will retain up to all of the proceeds of the sale of Stuff Fibre to telecommunications company Vocus, and ownership of Stuff's Wellington printing press.

The management buy-out follows the termination by Nine of negotiations with Stuff rival NZME, which had also hoped to buy Stuff for $1.

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The deal was announced at the same time that television channel Three owner MediaWorks was understood to be holding a staff meeting to discuss a proposal to shed 130 staff. 

Nine chief executive Hugh Marks said in a statement to the ASX that Nine had always believed it was important for Stuff to have local ownership.

"It is our firm view that this is the best outcome for competition and consumers in New Zealand,” he said.

Boucher said the transaction would give Stuff — as a wholly New Zealand-owned media business — "far greater certainty in an industry navigating through the challenging waters of the post Covid-19 ad market".

“It is great to take control of our own future with the move to local ownership and the opportunity to build further on the trust of New Zealanders, who turn to us for local and national news and entertainment every day," she said.

Stuff operates Stuff.co.nz and owns nine daily newspapers including The Dominion Post and The Press, The Sunday Star-Times, and the New Zealand social media network Neighbourly.