Buddle Findlay is proud to have assisted management in transitioning the ownership of the Stuff media business into the hands of Stuff Chief Executive, Sinead Boucher.
After months of discussion and speculation about a potential sale or takeover, Buddle Findlay advised Chief Executive Sinead Boucher on acquiring the business at the end of May from its prior owner, Nine Entertainment.
Corporate partner Nick Bragg led the Buddle Findlay team, supported by specialists from across the firm, including partners Allan Yeoman and Tony Wilkinson, senior associate Jonathan Simons and senior solicitor Amy Kristensen, noting “Buddle Findlay is really proud to have been able to assist Sinead in bringing the Stuff business, a key media platform and information provider in the daily lives of New Zealanders, under independent New Zealand ownership."
With the transaction accelerating rapidly from a discussion between Sinead and Nine Entertainment Chief Executive Hugh Marks, Buddle Findlay worked to swiftly implement the deal following agreement between the parties on the fundamental commercial terms. Sinead's existing in-depth knowledge of the Stuff business helped the parties to balance building out the full suite of transaction documents and working through the steps required to allow Stuff to be fully separated from the Nine group, with the desire to allow the transition to be effected quickly in order to set the foundations for the next chapter in the Stuff story.
Stuff employs about 900 staff, including close to 400 journalists, more than any other New Zealand outlet. Stuff owns brands including stuff.co.nz, Neighbourly, The Dominion Post, The Press, the Waikato Times, the Sunday-Star Times, and TV Guide.
The deal completed on 31 May 2020, effectively passing Stuff in to local ownership from 1 June 2020.
