New media moguls: Lebashe Group opens a window on Tiso Blackstar's future

It will now go by the name of Arena Holdings. The company's Chief Investment Officer Warren Wheatley says the name derives from the sporting and entertainment venue’s definition, but would rather symbolise a meeting place where people will come together to be informed, entertained and educated.

“Almost like a town square,” he says.

Daily Maverick has it on good authority that Lebashe Investment Group recently bought an 8% stake in Alec Hogg’s online business, BizNews, for R5-million. Hogg will shortly join the Arena board.

The newsrooms of Business Day, Financial Mail and the Sunday Times have had to call home by many names over the years, including Johncom, Avusa and Times Media.

But Lebashe Chairman Tshepo Mahloele says the outfit is in for the long haul, so hopefully, this one will stick.

The division will house all of Lebashe’s content, broadcasting and other media assets, both locally and owned up in Africa, which it acquired from Tiso for just over a R1-billion.

Top brass will remain in place, with the current MD of newspapers Andy Gill and deputy, Moshoeshoe Monare, the former editor of the Sunday Independent, taking charge of the business under its new banner, and leading it to new frontiers.

Lebashe have already taken up office space at the media group’s headquarters in Parktown, Johannesburg as most of the paperwork has been signed, sealed and delivered.

In September the Competition Commission recommended that the tribunal approve the proposed takeover without conditions. And the deal got the nod from Tiso shareholders in the UK shortly afterwards.

Lebashe is a private enterprise and has mainly been involved in financial technology services in the past, but Wheatley says they are super excited about their new venture.

The company is a shareholder in Capitec and EOH, and has significant stakes in microlender Rainfin and the alternative stock exchange 4AX.

Mahloele adds that the way has now been paved to cross the digital divide, establishing a solid foundation for its local media assets, and build it up from there.

It will also be the springboard from which the company wants to expand across the continent. It already has footprints in both Nigeria and Kenya.

Andrew Bonamour, CEO of Tiso, told Business Maverick that he thoroughly enjoyed the challenge and was proud of what we achieved over the years, adding that all titles are currently profitable.

“Digital is growing,” he said. “And we proved subscriber model works on good content.”

Tiso managed to release its financial results for the year to June at the end of October, after announcing a short delay in September.

The company said accounting and disclosure complexities associated with the restructuring and unbundling of these integrated operations made it difficult to do so. DM