Back in 2016, oOh!Media bought 85% of Junkee from its founders Neil Ackland and Tim Duggan for $11.1 million. They later bought out the remaining 15%, and had owned Junkee through until this year when CEO Cathy O’Connor made the decision that the company needed to shift its focus to its more traditional assets.
“There’s been a lot of interest from a broad range of potential acquirers. And we think sometime in Q4, hopefully, toward the end of October we might be progressing to an outcome,” O’Connor told Mediaweek in August.
The negotiations were long, and a list of potential buyers circled the site after it was put up for sale in July, but ultimately Junkee was sold to RACAT Group in December.
Dec 8: After a long process, Junkee Media has finally been sold to RACAT Group
oOh!media has announced that youth-orientated digital publishing business, Junkee Media, has been acquired by the RACAT Group.
Junkee Media joins RACAT’s portfolio of publishing, production and digital assets which includes Australian Geographic, game developer and publisher Runaway Play as well as Northern Pictures, the production company behind TV shows such as Love on the Spectrum, Hardball and Lukewarm Sex.
The decision to divest Junkee Media was announced in June of this year and followed the conclusion of a strategic review to focus on the core business of Out of Home media to capitalise on future growth opportunities.
As part of the strategic review, the company determined that its core focus on Out of Home means that it will transition away from online digital publishing.
oOh! CEO Cathy O’Connor said at the time that the company’s strategy was evolving to take advantage of numerous opportunities in Out of Home, and the Junkee divestment was part of a series of new initiatives to be announced over the coming months.
“When I talk to advertisers and agencies, they tell me they want to reach the right audience at the right price, format and location to deliver the best ROI, but they also say it is equally important to have a strong creative message that cuts through.
“As the market leader, we will show brands how best to use Out of Home smartly and creatively to deliver better results.
“The Junkee team have done a great job building a powerful media brand, and the recent long-term partnerships with Google and Facebook are testament to the value inherent in the business and its promising future. We believe this decision gives Junkee the best opportunity to build on its legacy and become even more successful for many years to come.”
oOh! will retain branded content and production arm Junkee Studio, which will be relaunched as a part of a new creative proposition in early 2022.
Junkee Media’s editorial, sales and implementation teams will move across to RACAT as part of the transaction.
Junkee Media will be headed up at RACAT by media entrepreneur Piers Grove. “It will be a huge thrill and responsibility to lead Junkee in the months and years to come,” said Grove. “Our mission at RACAT is to own and operate media companies that in one way or another add something to our world and Junkee does exactly that. We are huge fans of Junkee’s brands, its loyal audiences and the huge array of content it delivers every day. We value the exceptional team that make Junkee the go-to news and entertainment source for millions of young Australians every month.”
Piers Grove
David Haslingden, executive director of RACAT, added: “Junkee is a business we are excited to invest in growing and expanding to meet its audience in new and responsive ways. We are grateful to oOh!, Neil Ackland and the entire team for the opportunity to take this exciting brand into the future.”
Neil Ackland, chief content, marketing and creative officer at oOh! said: “As a co-founder of Junkee it was critically important we found the right business that is aligned to its core values. I know that RACAT will be a wonderful home for the team and I’m excited to watch them and Piers take it to new heights. My journey with Junkee now comes to an end as I continue with oOh! and I want to thank the brilliant Junkee team for their outstanding work and wish them and RACAT every success in the future.”
oOh! originally acquired 85% of Junkee Media for $11.05m in June of 2016, before later acquiring the final 15%.
The commercial terms are not material to oOh!media Limited’s reporting obligations and are not being disclosed. Jacanda Capital was the lead adviser to oOh!media on this transaction.