Good morning, everyone, and thank you all for joining us. Today marks a transformative milestone for Southern Cross Media Group and Seven West Media. My name is John Kelly, MD and CEO of Southern Cross Media Group, and I'm joined today by Jeff Howard, MD and CEO of Seven West Media. We are both very excited to announce today that we have entered into a scheme implementation deed for a recommended combination of Southern Cross Media Group and Seven West Media to create an integrated national media organization. Over the next 15 minutes or so, Jeff and I will take you through an overview of the key elements of today's announcement and the proposed combination, including the strategic rationale and significant benefits this transaction will deliver to all shareholders. Going forward in today's presentation, I'll refer to Southern Cross Media Group as SCA and Seven West Media as Seven.
Turning to slide three. Under the terms of the combination, this is an all-scrip transaction whereby SCA will acquire all shares in Seven through a scheme of arrangement. Seven shareholders will receive 0.1552 shares in SCA for each Seven share held. This exchange ratio results in SCA and Seven shareholders each owning approximately 50% of the combined business upon completion. The combined business will benefit from a highly experienced board and senior executive team. The board will initially comprise four representatives from the Seven board and three representatives from the SCA board. Kerry Stokes will be the chair of the board until the end of February 2026, at which point he'll retire from the board and Heath MacKay-Cruise will assume the chair role. Jeff will become Managing Director and CEO of the combined group, while I will become the Group Managing Director, Audio.
The scheme implementation deed is subject to customary conditions and regulatory approvals, including ACMA, ACCC, and ASX approvals, and requires approval from Seven shareholders through a scheme of arrangement. The transaction is unanimously recommended by the boards of SCA and Seven. SGH has indicated it intends to vote all its shares in Seven in favor of the proposed transaction. I will now hand over to Jeff for the transaction highlights. Jeff.
Thanks, John. Good morning, everyone. Turning to slide four, the strategic and financial rationale for the proposed combination is compelling, and we outline this from this page on. The merger will capitalize on the established standalone and highly complementary capabilities of Seven and SCA to create one of Australia's leading integrated multimedia platforms. Excuse my cold, everybody. There are a number of significant strategic and financial benefits. We're bringing together some of the best creators of media content in Australia, delivered to national and local audiences through the combined power of our linear and digital media channels. Importantly, we will be strongly positioned to attract, grow, and monetize the high-value 25 to 54 audiences that matter across an integrated digital video, audio, and publishing platform.
We'll leverage unique digital, video, audio, and publishing content across the combined platforms, benefiting from a cohesive strategy that combines the power of news, sport, and entertainment under a single streamlined offering. For advertisers and agency, the offering will be compelling. We're creating a seamless and scalable solution connecting high-value audiences across all mediums to significantly improve campaign targeting, reach, and efficiency. We'll harness the power of combined data and insights to drive cross-promotion and accelerate growth in audiences and revenue. This will deliver operational and financial leverage, supporting the funding of organic and inorganic growth and capital management initiatives. There will be significant financial benefits for the transaction, with collectively undertaken a bit of work on the synergies and a conservatively estimated $25 to $30 million of cost synergies that will be achieved over 18 to 24 months, and more on this shortly.
This is before we consider the potential revenue synergies. Ultimately, the true value of the combination will be in unlocking cross-platform opportunities, and although we haven't quantified these, we believe they will be significant. Audience growth and monetization of our digital platforms is a key area we'll be focusing on very quickly. We are confident the combined company will create a much more attractive investment proposition for shareholders. The transaction improves the market scale, financial profile, free float, liquidity, and investor relevance of the combined group over the medium term. This also aligns with both SWM's and SCA's stated strategic position of being in support of media consolidation in Australia. Back to John.
Thanks, Jeff. Moving to slide five, for the benefit of SCA shareholders, Seven is the nation's leading television broadcaster with Seven, 7TWO, 7mate, 7flix, and 7Bravo, and Australia's number one BVOD platform in Seven Plus. Seven also brings strong digital properties, including sevennews.com.au and The West Australian, along with Perth Now and The Nightly. SCA operates 99 radio stations across Australia, trading under its flagship brands Hit and Triple M. We have unmatched regional coverage, reaching 95% of regional Australia, and we also have our rapidly growing LiSTNR digital platform, which provides live and on-demand audio content. We focus on the cost-efficient delivery of the audience that matters across Australia with leading 25 to 54 radio audiences and known and addressable streaming and podcast audiences through our leading digital audio ecosystem in LiSTNR.
The combined entity will have comprehensive nationwide TV coverage, extensive metro and regional radio coverage, and leading digital platforms serving audiences across all mediums. Together, we will create the true home of Australian content across all platforms with capabilities spanning metro, regional, digital, streaming, TV, podcast, and print. On slide six, we highlight that the strategic rationale for combining our media assets is exceptionally strong. We'll become a leading Australian-owned media company providing Australian content to the Australian audiences that matter across TV, audio, and digital platforms. In terms of collaboration potential, we are creating a one-stop shop for advertisers offering attractive reach to high-value audiences across multiple formats. We will turbocharge digital growth by accelerating audience growth within an attractive, fast-growing market. The combined digital platform of Seven Plus and LiSTNR will offer best-in-class free visual and audio content.
We will leverage complementary data and insights to drive audience acquisition and retention. There is significant opportunity for cross-platform promotion, utilizing our talent to market and promote key entertainment content, including tentpoled TV programs, podcasts, and Seven's VOD library. In news and sports coverage, we can leverage the strength of our talent and our national reach to drive audience and revenue opportunities. The combined group will service major market segments across both video and audio, from sports content across cricket and AFL with Triple M and Seven to news through Seven News and our radio networks to entertainment properties that can be cross-promoted across platforms. The use of AI in LiSTNR and 7plus will help leverage data insights. Becoming a scaled provider of cross-platform content will allow for key talent attraction and retention.
Put simply, this merger has not been driven by the need for increased size, but rather from the substantial audience and revenue benefits that will be mined from the highly complementary and scalable offering provided by combining our respective Television and audio assets both terrestrially and digitally. Moving to slide seven, one of the most exciting parts of this combination is our ability to leverage each other's existing market positions across the audiences that matter, cross-promoting our live and on-demand content to continue the strong growth in digital audiences that we are already delivering. 7plus and the Seven Network both have enviable market positions, which continues to drive our size growth in the 7plus platform through cross-promotion and brand awareness.
On the audio side, as we know, SCA is a market leader in both Metro Radio and Regional Radio, and this is translating into sustained growth in the LiSTNR user base. The opportunity to benefit from these market positions to drive growth across the larger combined platform throughout the Australian media landscape is very exciting. The numbers on this page aren't just statistics; they represent engaged, loyal audiences that advertisers want to reach. The strength of these foundations positions us perfectly to drive digital growth while maintaining our leadership in traditional broadcast mediums.
Turning to slide eight now, as mentioned, through the work we've already done together, we've identified $25 to $30 million of anticipated annual cost synergies that we can deliver within 18 to 24 months post-deal completion. These savings come from four key areas. First, the rationalization of duplicated corporate costs, including listing costs, back office, and corporate services, will provide immediate savings. Second, the economies of scale benefits. The combined business will benefit from improved unit economics through pooled volume and services. This is particularly relevant with respect to our growing digital platforms. Third, we'll be looking closely at our day-to-day operations to identify improvements and efficiencies in systems and processes. Our combined expertise will drive best practice across the enlarged network. Fourth, consolidation of facilities where we have overlapping locations will generate further cost savings for the business.
We've already identified a number of leased offices for a media co-location. While we've done this preliminary work, we'll be sitting down together shortly to work up the execution plans. Until then, it's too early to say how the identified synergies will impact our cost base, being our people and operations. Importantly, this $25 to $30 million is before considering any potential revenue synergies. We believe there is good upside from a variety of unquantified initiatives ahead of time, including cross-platform advertising solutions, bundled offerings, and enhanced digital monetization opportunities. Turning to slide nine now, in terms of the next steps and timeline for the proposed combination, over the next few weeks, we will prepare the comprehensive documentation, including the scheme booklet, the independent expert's report, and the necessary regulatory submissions.
In November or December, the scheme booklet and notice of meeting will be sent to Seven shareholders, providing full details of the transaction and the independent expert's assessment. The scheme meeting and implementation date remain subject to regulatory approval, particularly from ACMA regarding media ownership rules and ACCC for competitive competition clearance. We're confident in obtaining these approvals given the complementary nature of our businesses and the clear public benefit of creating a stronger Australian media company. We reiterate that while we're excited about this opportunity, completion remains subject to customary conditions and regulatory approvals. Seven shareholders do not need to take any action at this time. We'll keep all shareholders updated as we progress through the approval process. In summary, as we move to slide 10, this is a win-win for both shareholder groups.
The newly formed media business will become a leading Australian multimedia company that will benefit from greater scale and diversity with complementary brands, products, and offerings, providing considerable runway for growth. All shareholders will benefit from the cost synergies discussed with the additional upside in the future from revenue initiatives. We'll also have leadership from a combination of two expert management teams and boards, bringing together the best of both organizations with a clear vision to create a leading media platform across the country. The depth of experience across both teams will be invaluable as we navigate the evolving media landscape. Finally, we expect the combined entity to benefit from greater trading liquidity with a broader shareholder register and a larger market capitalization. This is truly a merger of equals that positions all stakeholders, shareholders, employees, advertisers, and audiences for an exciting future in Australian media.
We look forward to working together to deliver on the significant potential of this combination. That concludes our presentation for this morning. Thank you for all your time. We'd now like to open the line to any questions.
Thank you. If you wish to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. If you wish to cancel your request, please press star two. If you're on a speakerphone, please pick up the handset to ask your question. Your first question comes from Andrew Rykowski from ENP. Please go ahead.
Hi, John. Hi, Jeff. I've got a few, hopefully, quick ones. Jeff, maybe the first one for you. Are you able to explain to us the rationale behind being willing to agree a deal at a discount to the last close? I appreciate it's only a slight discount, but I suppose it is a discount. Was it just sort of reflective of the options that were on the table? Are there areas that, what are the expectations going forward and your thinking behind it?
Yeah, morning Isha. Look, we've looked at the deal from a total perspective rather than any particular point in time. We know the SCA business pretty well and the board took the view that a 50-50 merger ratio is fair for both sets of shareholders. When we assessed the terms and the structure and everything of the deal, we focused on the overall value uplift, opportunity for SCA shareholders, which we think is positive. While we're obviously conscious of some short-term EPS dilution for SCA shareholders, this is more than offset by the benefits of creating a stronger and more diversified media organization. With greater market relevance, the potential for cash flow generation on a combined basis is much stronger than SCA on its own. The opportunities for capital management, I think, will be accelerated quite significantly as a result of the transaction.
Over time, particularly longer term, we see pretty strong shareholder return potential for SCA shareholders as part of the transaction.
Okay, got it. Thank you. Secondly, your intention in relation to the holding in ARN if this deal goes through, should we assume that it's very much non-core and not really part of your needs going forward?
We haven't actively turned our minds, Isha, to that holding. I don't see that there would need to be anything that would happen in the immediate term. As always, we would assess the holding as we do from time to time.
Thank you. This is a, and Jeff, John, question for both of you, but you've obviously given us a reasonable guide around the synergies. I'm interested in the extent to which these are synergies which would be available as part of the combination as opposed to standalone opportunities. I mean, particularly in the third area that you've identified, to an extent, it feels like that's something maybe you could achieve even on a standalone basis. Perhaps can you talk us through how much of an opportunity there would have been on a standalone basis as opposed to as a combination of the two entities?
Yeah, Isha, let me take that one. I mean, SCA has been doing cost out and cost measurement very actively for a number of years, as has SCA. We're doing that every day of the week. When we looked at 2025 and the things that we're doing for 2026, the cost synergies we've called out are on top of that. We've clearly put them in the bucket of things that can be achieved through the merger and would be much more difficult for SCA on its own to do them without the merger potential.
John, I think.
Yeah, I think I clearly know there's some duplication of a whole lot of corporate costs, listing fees, insurance, you know, boards, etc. I think you also need to be mindful there's about 25, 26 locations we'll be co-located in. There's opportunities in terms of office consolidation, etc. There's lots of opportunities within that $25 to $30 million number, which certainly wouldn't be available in a standalone basis. I think Jeff and I have spent some time going through that and quite excited by that opportunity.
I think to go back to your question, Isha, about the third bucket where we talk about operations and efficiencies in systems and process, we're both doing that actively. What the merger does is give us an extra bucket of things we can try to chase in that space.
Okay, great. Thank you. Maybe just the very final one. I know this is not a trading update per se, but are you able to give us any update on current trading? I think, Jeff, you were previously talking to flat total TV revenue in July, August, some September momentum. John, I think you'd mentioned some modest audio revenue growth in July, August. Are you able to give us just an update on the September trends?
We weren't planning on giving a trading update on this call, Isha, but nice try.
Okay, thanks.
Thank you. Once again, if you wish to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone. Your next question comes from Brian Hahn from Morningstar. Please go ahead.
Thanks. Gentlemen, do you know what are the big assets that need to be divested if this deal goes through?
Morning, Brian. We will be engaging with the government and ACMA around the regulatory requirements. We would be expecting to get a period of time to do anything that we have to do, and we'll be looking to optimize the outcome for the combined group in the event that we have to do anything. I prefer not to talk about any divestments at this point. There are some markets where there may be overlaps, but we are working through that and we'll keep everybody informed as that progresses.
Okay, thanks. On the fiduciary out clause for Southern Cross, can I just confirm that's the right of Southern Cross to terminate the deal if Southern Cross receives a proposal, correct?
Correct. That's right, Brian.
Right. If Seven West receives a superior proposal and Southern Cross decides to beat it, will Southern Cross need another independent expert's report?
Look, we're not required to have an independent expert's report because we're obviously acquiring the 50.1%. We are doing that for the benefit of our shareholders to ensure that they get that benefit in terms of a piling of an independent expert. In terms of our next scenario, it's a hypothetical which we really haven't addressed as part of this analysis.
Okay. Finally, John, can I, or Jeff, can I please ask which party actually started the merger discussion in the first place?
Look, it's an interesting question we were talking about the other day. I mean, Jeff and I have known each other for a long time. We're just comparing notes. I was at Ten Network for 15 years. You were at HTNH.
I was 10 for 10 and I was at Seven for another five.
We're not unknown to each other. I have a huge respect for Jeff and everything he's done in his career. I thought so.
Quite clearly, Brian, you'd be aware that we're in heavy engagement in the sale of our TV assets, the regional TV assets to them in the last year. We finished that engagement and we were talking about consolidation. We're both on the record as being substantial advocates of consolidation. It needs to happen. We need to take the mantle and really fight back against the global behemoths. I think we're both very excited that this deal has, the conversations we've had over the past few weeks have culminated in this transaction, which we think is going to benefit the company and all shareholders.
Yeah.
Yeah, gentlemen, that's why I asked because from a Seven West perspective, I mean, when you guys were buying Southern Cross TV assets, which was very recent, the idea of merger would have come up at that time, would it not have?
You must remember, Brian, you know, we had sold the 10 assets, the 10 regional assets in the previous time, and we were on the record to say we wanted to exit those assets because we thought they were best held by the network. It was a very critical thing for us to get that done, and we had a commitment to our shareholders. That was our primary goal, just to sell the TV assets and at the time be the best audio company in the land. That was done, and we moved on to these other discussions.
Yeah, and Brian, I think it's probably safe to say, as John said, we've known each other for a very long time. We see each other in a lot of things, and the discussion on industry consolidation has been consistent. The need for it to happen, the benefits that can be generated from it happening. I think we've probably gotten to a point in the last little while where it made sense for both boards and now for both sets of shareholders to pursue it, and hence why we're at where we are today. Thank you very much, gentlemen.
Thank you. Once again, if you wish to ask a question, please press star one. Your next question comes from Andrew Anagnostellis, private investor. Please go ahead.
Hi guys, just two questions. Firstly, I'm just interested in the rationale for keeping the print assets. I'm wondering what any synergies are there. It seems that the merger does make sense on a scale basis, but doesn't seem to address the issue of, you know, the lack of digital assets, online, social media, etc., which is obviously a very big factor in the environment today. Secondly, just a quick question on sort of capital management. What will the balance sheet look like? Any thought on, you know, getting some of those franking credits back to shareholders, buybacks, etc., and why you think it'll be more appealing on a scale in sort of the market to investors, etc.? Thanks.
How about I take the digital question and I'll pass the other two to Jeff? I think the digital part, I don't agree with you, Andrew. It's a growing part of our business. It's sort of circa 13%, 14% of our business, the combined business moving forward. You're getting extraordinary above market growth in Seven Plus, and we're getting the same in relation to LiSTNR. I think one of the benefits of this transaction is we're both fully refurbished, fully digitized, fully centralized. A lot of the money has been spent in relation to our digital assets, which I think the cross-pollination that we now can be able to achieve between our digital assets, which I from an audience and data perspective, but most importantly from a revenue perspective, I think is probably the most exciting part about this transaction for both companies.
I think this is an opportunity to really supercharge our digital properties moving forward in a collective basis.
Yeah, just to add to what John just said, Andrew, sure, we're not a social media platform, but what we are doing collectively is carving out a part of the market where we're talking to Australian audiences with Australian content more effectively than anybody else. We're seeing a growth opportunity from doing that well and expect that to continue. We'll have thoughts about what more we can do when we put the two businesses together from a digital perspective and continue the transition to that world.
Yeah, Jeff and I already talked about the what-ifs, Andrew. For example, video podcasting is YouTube's leading podcast platform in the world. We don't have a video capability.
Seven Plus brings a video platform.
That's an easy opportunity, which I think everyone will recognize as being something not in the $25 to $30 million cost parcel, but certainly in the revenue future synergies parcel.
As for the print side, Andrew, yes, we do have The West and other assets in WA, The Nightly, Perth Now, etc. They are a very integrated part of the Seven West Media business. When you're in Perth, you would see a very integrated media business from a Seven West perspective between the television assets, the digital assets, and the publishing assets. We think there is even more opportunity when we introduce the audio assets into that mix in WA. See that part of our business being even stronger, with the print assets still in the business. From a capital management perspective, obviously we've had a pretty good look at what the combined balance sheet looks like. We're confident that there'll be a pretty meaningful capital management conversation once the business is combined and the new board gets together and can opine on what's appropriate for the business going forward.
Yes, we're also conscious of the amount of franking credits we've got.
Great, thanks for that.
Cheers, Andrew.
Thank you. There are no further questions at this time. I'll now hand back for any closing remarks.
Thank you all for joining this morning at short notice. It's an exciting time for both SCA and Seven West Media. We look forward to working in the next few weeks to get all the materials out so we can get to a vote. Hopefully, the ACCC is kind and we can get it done as soon as possible. We'll be in touch with more detail.
Yeah, we look forward to talking to our shareholders and other suppliers and other things later in the day. Thank you for your ongoing support. Really appreciate it. Thanks for the time.