Transcription of The Stock Network Interview with Vinyl Group (ASX:VNL), CEO Josh Simons
Lel Smits: Vinyl Group has moved to quickly reshape its media portfolio, announcing the acquisitions of Pedestrian Group and Time Out Australia within days of each other, up to purchasing Balmorgan Digital in March this year. The deals significantly expand the company’s reach across youth, culture, lifestyle and entertainment audiences, while increasing its online audience to around 55% of Australians. Both Pedestrian and Time Out have been acquired for nominal consideration, and I’m joined today by Vinyl Group CEO Josh Simons to discuss the rationale behind the deals, the integration plan and whether further media buys are on the horizon.
Josh, welcome to The Stock Network.
Josh Simons: Thank you for having me.
Lel Smits: Now, Vinyl announced the acquisitions of both Pedestrian Group and Time Out Australia within 48 hours, with both transactions completed for nominal consideration. Can you outline the strategic rationale behind these deals? Also, why these brands were the right fit for the business at this stage?
Josh Simons: The strategic rationales of both Pedestrian Group and Time Out Australia accelerate Vinyl’s strategy of building a scaled technology-led media and culture ecosystem. They’re recognised cultural brands. They have established audiences, trusted content, strong relevance to advertisers, which would ordinarily take significant time and capital to build organically.
Pedestrian adds owned original IP to our portfolio and strengthens our position in youth media, while Time Out brings one of the world’s most recognised urban culture brands into the Australian platform through franchising long-term agreements. I think, importantly, both deals were completed on, as you pointed out, highly capital-efficient terms. They reinforce Vinyl’s position as the partner and acquirer of choice for both subscale and global cultural media assets.
Lel Smits: Yes, and Josh, the acquisitions increase Vinyl’s reported online audience to reach around 55% of Australians. Beyond the audience numbers, though, how does greater scale improve the monetisation opportunities for you, also the advertiser demand and long-term earnings growth?
Josh Simons: Look, the increase in audience reach to around 55% of Australians online is important, because it moves Vinyl into a different type of conversation with advertisers, which is agencies and also brands direct. Scale allows Vinyl to offer advertisers access to niche cultural audiences, but with that national scale or reach, which is a much stronger proposition than any of these standalone media assets can typically provide.
The opportunity is to monetise that reach through larger, multi-channel, what we call adaptive media campaigns that combine content, technology, events, social, editorial, and this distribution that we now have to create more meaningful brand connections. And over time, that should support higher quality revenues, stronger demand from advertisers for the Vinyl product, and a clearer pathway ultimately to earnings growth as the business benefits from that operating leverage.
Lel Smits: Yes, and Josh, it certainly has been a busy time with all these acquisitions, also the acquisition of Valmorgan Digital alongside Pedestrian Timeout Australia. You are rapidly expanding this portfolio of owned and licensed media brands, but looking ahead, how are you deciding which assets you’re going to be acquiring? Also, how should investors expect further consolidation opportunities in the sector?
Josh Simons: Well, we’re focusing on assets that have established audience scale, cultural relevance, and that brand trust, as I mentioned, but which can also benefit from being part of the larger tech-enabled ecosystem. The ideal acquisition is not just simply another media brand. It’s an asset that can strengthen Vinyl’s audience reach and deepen advertiser relevance and add to the broader adaptive media flywheel, as we explain it in our recent presentation.
The acquisition of Valmorgan Digital and now Pedestrian and Timeout, I think it shows that there are real opportunities in the market as subscale operators and international brands look for those partners with the local relationships like we have, the operational capabilities, and ultimately that scale. Investors should expect Vinyl to remain disciplined, but the company is now increasingly well-positioned to assess further consolidation opportunities across owned, licensed, and franchised cultural media assets.
Lel Smits: Well, Josh, I appreciate the update from Vinyl Group and look forward to seeing what happens next. You are moving and shaking in the sector.
Josh Simons: Thank you.
Ends