In December, Stuff confirmed it had officially separated Stuff into two companies – Stuff Digital, which looks after the free Stuff and Neighbourly websites, and Stuff Masthead Publishing, which looks after the company’s publishing assets, including the Post, the Press and Sunday Star-Times newspapers and paywalled websites.
A notice to the Companies Office on February 7 revealed a change in the number of shares for Stuff Digital – Boucher went from holding the single share in the business to being the sole holder of one million shares.
Devon Funds Head of Retail Greg Smith told RNZ last week that increasing the number of shares might be a move to bring others into the company ownership.
“Typically, when you have just one shareholder, a motivation for issuing new shares is potentially when you want to bring on additional shareholders.”
A number of specific questions, focused on a potential acquisition of some or all of Stuff Digital by Trade Me, were sent to the two companies on Tuesday morning.
Stuff did not answer the specific questions but said through a spokesperson: “As in all previous inquiries regarding potential third parties interested in investing in the Stuff Group of businesses, we would never comment on whether discussions had been held or not.”
Trade Me chief executive Anders Skoe also did not answer the specific questions but said in a statement: “Trade Me has an ongoing commercial relationship with Stuff, which in recent months has included discussions regarding content sharing among other collaborations”.
In response to a follow-up question asking specifically, again, about a possible acquisition, Trade Me said: “We won’t be commenting further”.
Last week, it was revealed NZ Herald owner NZME had been in talks with Stuff about buying the other arm of the company – Stuff Masthead Publishing.
Those talks have been halted in light of the brewing board battle at NZME – Auckland businessman Jim Grenon is seeking a cleanout of the existing NZME board. NZME shareholders will vote on April 29 on whether to install him and his three nominees.
Trade Me and Stuff
Trade Me may consider a stake in Stuff Digital would give it the opportunity to extend its audience reach, especially as it battles the likes of Facebook’s Marketplace.
Trade Me is also under pressure in an increasingly competitive digital property classifieds market, where NZME’s OneRoof property portal has overtaken Trade Me Property in pure website audience terms in recent months.
In February, OneRoof recorded a unique website audience of 858,000 (up 28.6% year on year) compared with Trade Me Property’s website audience of 812,000 (up 0.2%).
Similarly, the NZ Herald and Stuff news websites are in a tight battle for overall audience, with Stuff recording an audience of 2.08m in February and the Herald 2.01m. Trade Me’s full website had an audience of 1.87m.
Stuff might see a partnership with Trade Me as an operational advantage.
Trade Me’s quarter century
Trade Me, founded by Sam Morgan in 1999, has become New Zealand’s biggest online auction and digital classifieds site. Any buy into, or of, Stuff Digital would be a somewhat back-to-the-future move.
One of Stuff’s earlier owners, Fairfax, bought Trade Me from Morgan for $700 million in 2006.
Trade Me was partially listed in 2011, with Fairfax retaining 51% of the business. The media company sold its remaining stake in December 2012, for A$616m, with proceeds from the sale used to reduce Fairfax’s net debt.
Trade Me later delisted. It was acquired by private equity firm Apax Partners for NZ$2.56 billion in 2019.
In recent years, Trade Me has acquired myRent as well as a 13% share of consumer investment platform Sharesies and a 40% stake in Real Flow Finance.
Trade Me’s own future has been subject to speculation in recent years, with suggestions Apax is eyeing either a private equity sale or a public listing to exit.
There was speculation last year, too, of a potential sale to Rupert Murdoch interests, with the Post reporting the Murdoch-controlled Australian property listings firm REA Group had been in New Zealand for what might be a “serious sniff” of Trade Me.
In reference to the Stuff Digital shareholding update last week, Stuff told RNZ in a statement: “The change in number of shares over a month ago was simply part of the internal transaction to finalise the reorganisation of the business we began last year – the separation of our masthead business and Stuff Digital, which includes New Zealand’s most popular news website stuff.co.nz.
“Stuff Digital and Stuff masthead publishing continue to be 100% part of the Stuff Group, owned by our owner and publisher, Sinead Boucher.”
Stuff and NZME talks halted
NZME said, in a notice to the NZX early on Friday afternoon, it had been in discussions with Stuff to buy the Stuff Masthead Publishing division but Stuff had paused talks while it awaited the outcome of NZME’s board vote next month.
In its own statement, Stuff said it had withdrawn from the talks and had “no intention of resuming discussions at this stage”.
The masthead division includes the paywalled Post, Press and Sunday Star-Times websites but not the overall mass-market and free Stuff website.
“NZME confirms that it has had discussions with Stuff since late 2024 in relation to the potential acquisition of digital and print assets within the Stuff Mastheads business,” said the NZME statement, authorised by NZME chair Barbara Chapman.
The statement said that on March 6 – following NZME’s announcement Auckland businessman Jim Grenon was proposing new directors and a cleanout of the NZME board – “Stuff advised NZME that Stuff was pausing discussions in relation to any potential transaction until the composition of the NZME board is known following the outcome of NZME’s annual shareholders’ meeting”.
In a statement to Media Insider on Friday, a Stuff spokesperson said: “NZME approached Stuff in late 2024 to discuss [the] purchase of our Masthead Publishing business. We required them to provide us with more detailed information before we would consider progressing further. When events occurred with NZME’s board, we withdrew from any potential process. We have no intention of resuming discussions at this stage.”
In an email to Stuff staff, obtained by Media Insider, Boucher said: “For various reasons, we had some scepticism about this approach and asked them to provide us with more detailed information before we would consider progressing further”.
“When events occurred with NZME’s board, we withdrew from any potential process.”
Editor-at-Large Shayne Currie is one of New Zealand’s most experienced senior journalists and media leaders. He has held executive and senior editorial roles at NZME including Managing Editor, NZ Herald Editor and Herald on Sunday Editor and has a small shareholding in NZME.
