The prize for biggest anti-climax of 2011 surely went to the Fairfax Radio sale that never was. The laborious process turned into something of an Arthurian legend with a conga line of suitors attempting to pull the fabled sword from the stone. As we now know, none succeeded. Not even the mighty hero universally tipped to be most likely, MRN owner John Singleton, could come up with the readies to wrest the jewel encrusted network from the grip of the troubled, yet still potent, Fairfax empire.
But winners never quit and what was clear from Fairfax’s formal announcement to the ASX last October that it had withdrawn it’s radio assets from sale, was that that was not going to be the end of the matter. Not by a long chalk. Singo hadn’t been defeated, he’d just been left with the same problems he had before he took a tilt at Fairfax Radio. To build any sort of real value into Maquarie Radio Network, he still needs a successful sister station in Melbourne for Sydney’s 2GB. MTR isn’t going to be that station anytime soon. Taking over 3AW is still his best bet. Or is it?
Enter Gina Rinehart – kind of rhymes with lionheart. Her name had already been mooted last year amid a torrent of speculation, not so much as a purchaser in her own right, but rather linked to some intricate consortium, with a convoluted agenda, headed by Singo. According to the speculation, it was a perfect match, “Man with number one radio station in Sydney seeking partner (any gender) with money. Object, dominating Melbourne too.”
While nothing came of it last time, she’s back. And this time its not just a rumour, it’s fact that she’s been buying up Fairfax shares as if they were life jackets on the Costa Concordia. And it’s not just because she wants to round out her portfolio and thinks that Fairfax shares are good value at the moment.
If a secretly recorded video that’s doing the rounds is anything to go by, she has a deep desire to influence government and public opinion. And as that scourge of environmentalists Lord Monckton tells her and a select group of mining moguls in the video, the best way to do that is to own your own major media outlet, like a Fox News in the U.S.
Seems Ms Rinehart has taken the Lord’s advice to heart and is going after not just Fairfax Radio, but the whole Fairfax enchilada. Or at least enough of it to exert the influence necessary for ‘world domination.’
As they say, everybody wants to rule the world and it is not in the remit of this blog to advocate who should or shouldn’t have the right to do it. Or on which side of the political spectrum they should sit. The Fairfax roster of commentators are already providing plenty of opinion on that.
Our question instead is; if Mrs Rinehart succeeds in gaining enough of Fairfax, how would this play out for the Radio division? Will she have enough influence to remake last year’s failed deal into something that MRN could afford and make Singo happy? Or could she convince the Fairfax board to make Singo an offer he couldn’t refuse and buy MRN along with 2GB and add it to the Fairfax stable?
Which would work best for you?