The Deal
Vinyl Group (ASX:VNL) bought Val Morgan Digital from Hoyts for $10.5 million: $7 million cash and $3.5 million in shares with a 24-month escrow. The acquisition closes within a month, funded by a $10 million facility from existing shareholders.
Val Morgan Digital generated $10.7 million revenue in 2025 and is expected to contribute $2.5 million in annualised EBITDA. That is a 70% revenue boost for Vinyl.
What They Got
Val Morgan Digital publishes Fandom, PopSugar, BuzzFeed, Tasty, Vox Media, and LADbible under licence. Combined with Vinyl's existing properties (Rolling Stone, Variety, Concrete Playground, Mediaweek), the company claims it now reaches 47% of Australians online in entertainment and 51% in news.
That puts them in comparable territory to Nine and News Corp Australia for digital audience, at least by their numbers.
The Backer
WiseTech Global founder Richard White owns more than a third of Vinyl through RealWise Holdings. This is his latest media play after backing acquisitions of Rolling Stone, Concrete Playground ($5m in late 2024), and blockchain music startup Serenade.
Sales Angle
Two digital advertising platforms merging means potential changes for media sales teams. Worth noting: Hoyts Group CEO Damian Keogh joins Vinyl's board, and the companies are forming a long-term commercial partnership for cinema and out-of-home advertising.
If you are selling digital ad inventory in ANZ entertainment media, your competitive landscape just shifted. If you are working for either company, watch for territory realignment and quota adjustments as they integrate two sales operations.
Vinyl will have around $3 million in working capital post-deal. That is tight for a business this size after multiple acquisitions.