Competition Commission rubber-stamps Media24 sale to Novus

31 Oct 2024

The focus will now be on enhancing the content of Media24’s digital news brands, News24 and Netwerk24.

Following a stamp of approval from the Competition Commission this week, Media24 has confirmed the sale of its media logistics operations, On the Dot, and its community newspaper portfolio (including Soccer Laduma/Kick Off) to Novus Holdings.

Raj Lalbahadur, interim CEO of Media24, says the transaction will be implemented immediately and Media24 will now focus on concentrating its investments in and enhancing the digital content of its two digital news brands, News24 and Netwerk24.

“These range from further elevating the quality of journalism and streamlining publishing to deliver trusted news faster, to introducing personalisation and expanding enriched content,” he said.

The final publication dates for the last of the printed newspapers – Beeld, City Press, Daily Sun and Rapport – the PDF editions of Volksblad and Die Burger Oos-Kaap on Netwerk24 and for SNL24 operating as a hub will be 31 December 2024.

Read more: Media24 shutdowns — digital to retain 66 journos, but 334 jobs still on the line

From January 2025, Daily Sun will operate as a standalone, free-access news website and Rapport and City Press will reside at Netwerk24 and News24 respectively as digital-only brands at the core of the Sunday content offering.

Beeld, Volksblad and Die Burger Oos-Kaap readers and subscribers will be able to continue accessing their news on Netwerk24, together with the nearly 100,000 subscribers who enjoy the platform’s “All in One Place” multicontent offering.

The merger approval timing is largely in line with expectations and means Media24’s restructuring process will now move forward.

Merger conditions

The Competition Commission approval, however, did include conditions.

Soccer Laduma and Kick Off cover local and international soccer. Soccer Laduma has both a print and a digital media presence while Kick Off can be accessed online through snl24.com. The Community Newspapers portfolio comprises 20 community newspaper titles (with a total of 37 editions) each focused on very specific geographic areas or communities, covering neighbourhood events, local businesses, community meetings, school activities and other topics that directly affect residents’ daily lives. These are all free weekly publications, with the exception of Paarl Post and Weslander.

On the Dot (OtD) is a distribution division of Media24 that, among other things, delivers the newspapers and leaflets from the printers to retail outlets or individual homes in residential areas. OtD also provides forecasting and demand planning services for publishers nationally, as well as in-store merchandising solutions, promotions, online sales and management of debtors.

The commission found that competition concerns may arise if the merged entity requires its customers to either:

Exclusively procure coldset printing services and distribution services from the merged entity or;

Procure printing/distribution on condition that the customer also procures distribution/printing services.

That is because the merged entity’s competitors are not able to offer a similar bundle. To address this concern, the commission and the parties have agreed that for three years after the implementation of the merger the merged entity will offer coldset printing and distribution services separately.

To address employment concerns, the merging parties shall not retrench any employees as a result of the merger for three years from the merger implementation date. Novus Group and Media24 have also agreed that for three years after the implementation of the merger, any Media24 employees who are retrenched for operational reasons unrelated to the merger will be rehired on a preferential basis, where vacancies at either Novus Group or Media24 arise and provided such employees are suitably qualified and experienced. DM

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Merger conditions