The moves further cement Grenon’s position as a substantial shareholder of NZME, sitting just behind the company’s biggest investor, Australian investment fund Spheria Asset Management Ltd, which owns 19% of the company.
Grenon led a charge this year for a board refresh of the company that owns the NZ Herald, Newstalk ZB, One Roof and a suite of entertainment radio stations.
He was voted in as a director of NZME at the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting in June, as was former radio industry entrepreneur and National Party MP Steven Joyce, who replaced Barbara Chapman as the company’s chair.
NZME board chair Steven Joyce has also lifted his shareholding in the company. Photo / Michael Craig
Grenon did not wish to comment on his latest share acquisition.
In an NZX notice in March, he had stated there was no intention to make a takeover bid.
Under New Zealand law, individual shareholders can lift their stake to a maximum 20% before Takeovers Code provisions come into play.
“The code ensures that all shareholders, no matter what their size or influence, have equal, informed opportunities to participate in major share transactions,” says a Takeovers Panel advisory notice.
A battle for the NZME board – and future direction of the company – played out publicly for about two months after it was revealed in early March that Grenon, an expatriate Canadian businessman who has lived in New Zealand for 13 years, had become a substantial shareholder and was leading a proposed cleanout of directors.
That battle effectively came to an end in May. An update on the NZX on May 9 announced a new group of proposed directors for the company, including Joyce and Grenon. The new-look board was approved at the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 3.
Alongside Joyce and Grenon are now technology and marketplace expert Bowen Pan, Carol Campbell, Sussan Turner and Guy Horrocks.
Recent NZX notices reveal Joyce has lifted his shareholding in the company – he now holds just under 51,000 shares – and that Pan has acquired just over 86,000 shares.
NZME last month reported operating ebitda of $23.9m and an after-tax loss of $393,000 for the first half of its financial year.
NZME shares were sitting at $1.11 at the close of trading on Monday.
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.