May delay for ruling on merger

The decision on whether Fairfax New Zealand and NZME can merge has been delayed again by the Commerce Commission.

The delay came after the publishers submitted research that said more journalists would keep their jobs if the merger was approved than if it was declined, particularly in provincial towns.

The regulator said yesterday that it now expected to release its decision on May 2.

Fairfax publishes Stuff and newspapers around New Zealand, including The Press and the Dominion Post. NZME’s stable includes the New Zealand Herald.

The delay is the second this year and is likely to fuel speculation the watchdog may be considering approving the merger, after indicating in a draft decision last year that it would reject it because of concerns about the impact on media diversity.

NZME shares were trading near an all-time high ahead of the commission’s announcement.

NZME chief executive Michael Boggs said in a statement to the New Zealand stock exchange that the process and extension was consistent with the commission’s ‘‘typical practices’’.

Fairfax and NZME said in their new submission that the commission needed to place most weight on the benefits and detriments that were most likely to occur, soonest, in reaching its decision.

‘‘In this case, the immediate, real and likely benefit of retention of newspapers and journalists in the regions, and the benefits for those regions of the merger, is highly relevant,’’ it said.

An accompanying submission commissioned from consultancy NERA said there would be ‘‘more journalists, including in communities outside major metropolitan areas’’ if the merger went ahead than if it didn’t.