MELBOURNE: Vinyl Group Ltd said Wednesday it has agreed to acquire Time Out Australia for nominal consideration and completed a $2.4 million share placement to fund integration costs, expanding its portfolio of premium cultural media assets.
The acquisition includes the entire issued share capital of Print & Digital Publishing Pty Ltd from Time Out Group plc, known as Time Out England. Vinyl will operate Time Out Australia across digital platforms, social media and events under a long-term franchise agreement. Time Out England will receive an ongoing revenue royalty rate and annual minimum guarantees under an initial five-year term with automatic annual renewals.
Time Out is a globally recognized urban culture brand covering food, travel, entertainment and city discovery. The addition of its Australian digital assets increases Vinyl Media’s combined internet audience reach to approximately 55% of Australians, based on Ipsos iris de-duplicated data, the company said.
The placement of 44.4 million fully paid ordinary shares at $0.054 each was priced at a 10% discount to the closing price on June 5. A top 10 shareholder led the placement as cornerstone investor, with additional institutional support. Red Leaf Securities acted as lead manager and will receive a 6% fee on funds raised.
Funds will be used for integration costs, working capital and operational initiatives tied to the Time Out Australia acquisition and Vinyl’s broader portfolio, including technology, systems and audience growth.
Time Out Australia has been historically profitable and is expected to be earnings accretive in fiscal year 2027, contributing positively to Vinyl Group’s EBITDA on a pro forma basis, the company said.
The transaction is scheduled to complete June 24, subject only to a 14-day cooling-off period.
Vinyl Group CEO and Executive Director Josh Simons said the acquisition brings an iconic culture brand into the Vinyl Media portfolio and strengthens the company’s position at the intersection of content and real-world experiences.
Rob Biagioni, CEO of Time Out Media, said Australia is an important territory for Time Out, and Vinyl has a strong track record of growing premium media brands and connecting audiences with real-world experiences.
Vinyl will host an investor webinar at 10:30 a.m. Thursday.
