Nine Entertainment Co. today announced that it has made an offer to shareholders of CarAdvice.com Limited, the leading publisher of online automotive editorial content in Australia, to purchase a portion of their holdings in the company.

Coupled with a minor equity injection (comprising cash and contra), NEC intends to hold a majority stake in CarAdvice post-completion. The offer to shareholders incorporates a path to 100 per cent ownership by NEC within three years.

CarAdvice provides high-quality, independent editorial content for new car buyers and influencers, with a key focus on video and audio casting. CarAdvice offers highly targeted and premium advertising opportunities for the automotive industry.

Alex Parsons, Chief Digital and Marketing Officer of NEC, said: “CarAdvice creates an exciting opportunity for Nine to deepen its exposure to the automotive category. Automotive is the single largest ad category for both TV and digital, with ongoing migration online. This is a great example of us targeting verticals which we believe we can build and ultimately own through the cross-promotional capabilities of our TV and digital platforms.”

Andrew Beecher, CEO and Managing Director of CarAdvice, said: “I am excited about welcoming NEC as a majority shareholder in CarAdvice. Nine’s proven ability to build brands and audiences, through both its television and digital properties, will provide a unique and significant opportunity for the business and our automotive advertisers. CarAdvice currently develops an enormous amount of proprietary content – this partnership with Nine will help us to distribute and commercialise that content more effectively.”

Friday, September 2, 2016 

For further information:
Nola Hodgson
Head of Investor Relations
02 9965 2306
nhodgson@nine.com.au

Nic Christensen
Head of Digital Communications
0404 460 607
nchristensen@nine.com.au