Nine Entertainment has sold its talkback radio stations, including 2GB and 3AW, to Sydney pub baron Arthur Laundy for $56 million. The sale comes as talk radio profits decline and audiences age. The stations sold are Nine Radio, which owns 2GB, 3AW, 4BC, 6PR, 2UE, Magic1278, and 4BH.
Arthur Laundy, 85, inherited two pubs in 1969 and built a group of 40 venues worth $1.75 billion, according to the AFR’s 2025 Rich List. His son, Craig Laundy, a former Liberal minister, manages the family business and said the family sees similarities between hotels and talkback radio. “Patrons in our venues are at the centre of everything we do and we will have that same ethos with our listeners,” he said.
In a separate transaction, Nine also bought outdoor advertising company QMS Media for $850 million. Nine said QMS will drive subscriptions for its newspapers and promote its streaming service Stan. The company also converted its regional television station NBN in northern NSW to an affiliate station.
Nine CEO Matt Stanton called the moves a “critical milestone” in the company’s Nine2028 transformation, aiming for a more efficient, digitally powered group. Nine is the publisher of the Australian Financial Review, the Sydney Morning Herald, and the Age, and owner of Channel Nine.
Sydney breakfast host Ben Fordham told 2GB listeners the sale was “fantastic news” and that the Laundy family “love 2GB” and are “decent, hardworking, knockabout people”. Nine Radio manager Tom Malone told staff to expect to see Arthur and Craig Laundy around the offices.
