The nation’s biggest media company, Nine Entertainment, has sold its talkback radio stations to a Sydney pub baron for $56m and bought outdoor advertising company QMS Media for $850m, in a major upheaval for Australia’s media landscape.

Nine Radio, which owns 2GB, 3AW, 4BC, 6PR, 2UE, Magic1278 and 4BH, has been offloaded as talk radio profits dwindle and the audience skews ever older.

In a surprise move, the network was bought by billionaire Sydney publican Arthur Laundy, 85, who inherited two pubs in 1969 and grew them into a group of 40 venues worth $1.75bn according to the AFR’s 2025 Rich List.

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His son Craig Laundy, who was a Liberal minister under Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison in 2016 and 2017, manages the family business. He said he wanted to grow it, and continue the important role the radio stations play in the life of everyday Australians.

“We see strong similarities between hotels and talkback radio,” he said. “Patrons in our venues are at the centre of everything we do and we will have that same ethos with our listeners.”

Nine has also converted its wholly owned regional television station NBN in northern NSW to an affiliate station.

QMS is an outdoor advertising company with a national network of digital billboards, including a lucrative City of Sydney contract. Nine said the outdoor media company will be used to drive subscriptions for the newspapers and promote the streaming service Stan.

“Laundy is expected to remain a long-term partner of Nine, with plans to utilise Nine News journalists on radio, showcase Stan Sport through Laundy venues, provide promotion and advertising sales collaboration, as well as increased advertising spend by Laundy on Nine properties,” the company said.

Nine’s restructure comes after the company sold its stake in real estate portal Domain for $1.4bn.

“Today’s announcements mark a critical milestone in our Nine2028 transformation,” Nine chief executive officer Matt Stanton said.

“These transactions will create a more efficient, higher-growth, and digitally powered Nine Group for our consumers, advertisers, shareholders and people.

“This positions Nine well for the future, enabling the group to withstand industry disruption and deliver long-term sustainable value to our shareholders.”

Nine is the publisher of the Australian Financial Review, the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age and the owner of Channel Nine.

Sydney breakfast host Ben Fordham told his 2GB listeners that the sale of the radio stations was “fantastic news” and it would be “business as usual” as the Laundy family “love 2GB”.

“They treat people well, they’re really good people, and that’s a great start,” Fordham said.

“They’ve been advertising on 2GB for some time, and they know that the advertising works, so they’ve obviously doubled down and thought, righto, we really want to invest in this.”

Fordham said he has known the family for a long time and that they are “decent, hardworking, knockabout people’.

Tom Malone, the manager of Nine Radio, told staff to expect to see Arthur and Craig Laundy around the offices.

The surprise buyer of Nine Radio, who was not mentioned during months of speculation sale, was first flagged by The Australian Financial Review’s Street Talk column.

Stanton said it was a “great outcome” for radio.

“We haven’t taken this decision lightly,” he said.

“It’s a good outcome for our radio employees as the Laundys look to invest in and grow the brands. It’s been heartening to see the passion and enthusiasm Arthur, Craig and the entire Laundy family have for radio and its powerful connection with local audiences.”