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Category: Media / Housing Industry

Fairfax enters trading halt ahead of Domain Group announcement

Tuesday, 21 Feb 2017 07:11:48 | Michael Janda

Fairfax is likely to make a formal announcement about Domain at its results briefing tomorrow. (AAP: Joel Carrett)

Media giant Fairfax has entered a trading halt pending an announcement about the future of its highly profitable real estate advertising business, Domain.

There has long been speculation that Fairfax would split-off, float or sell Domain, and this firmed up with an article in the Fairfax-owned Financial Review (AFR) saying that the company is looking to spin-off Domain into a separately listed company.

The latest reports from the AFR suggest that Fairfax would retain between 60-70 per cent ownership of the separate company and Domain's current chief executive Antony Catalano would continue to run the company.

Reports suggest that a separation could be completed by the end of the calendar year, with the standalone real estate firm valued around as much, or more, than its parent's total market capitalisation of $2 billion.

Domain has recently been contributing around half of Fairfax's profits, and been growing strongly compared to the continued decline of the company's traditional print media.

Fairfax has asked for a trading halt until Thursday, or when it makes an announcement to the market, whichever occurs first.

With the company due to report its first-half profits tomorrow morning, it is widely expected the announcement about Domain's future will be made then.

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