Merger set to create huge Australian media firm

Australian media companies Nine Entertainment and Fairfax Media have announced plans to merge, with the new media giant to be known only as Nine.

Nine Entertainment shareholders will own 51.1 per cent of the combined entity and its chief executive, Hugh Marks, will lead the new company.

Fairfax shareholders will own 48.9 per cent of the company, which will become Australia’s largest media player.

The deal requires regulatory approvals, though prime minister Malcolm Turnbull welcomed the plan. He said: “The arrival of all of the online news services has made the media so much more competitive than it used to be.”

But the union representing Fairfax journalists urged Australia’s competition regulator to block the merger.