APN Offloads Regional Papers to Focus on Radio and Digital

APN, the parent company of ARN and outdoor ad business Adshel, have confirmed that those business arms are going to be their pure focus moving ahead.

APN announced their intentions a while back with NewsCorp’s bid in June to take on their regional print division – ARM.

The memorandum to shareholders which was released to the market today, showcases the vision for the company including APN’s strategic priorities and focus. The formality now is for APN shareholders to agree to the sale. 

APN Chairman Peter Cosgrove states:“The APN Board is of the view that the Proposed Transaction will enhance shareholder value by enabling APN to pursue its strategic priorities and focus on its growth assets. For APN, a more defined and targeted portfolio of assets, focussed around two significant growth sectors in media of radio and outdoor, will facilitate greater market recognition of the value of the APN businesses.

The APN memorandum confirms that their Radio and outdoor assets are positioned as “growth sectors in Australian media with market revenue growth of 5% and 17% respectively in 2015.”

It also states that: “Australian Radio Network (“ARN”) and Adshel are amongst the leading businesses within their respective categories. Both businesses have been experiencing revenue growth. ARN’s earnings growth over the past few years has been driven by its content and ongoing ratings success. This strategy is being supported by investments in new business and digital initiatives aimed at growing audiences and revenues. Increasingly the focus for ARN will be to grow its younger audience base, delivering content across multiple platforms including mobile, video and social, utilising new and existing assets such as iHeartRadio, The Edge and Emotive.”