Josh Simons.
ASX-listed publisher and music company Vinyl Group is acquiring Val Morgan Digital, a subsidiary of The HOYTS Group.
The deal is valued at $10.5 million, made up of $7 million cash and $3.5 million in shares.
Val Morgan Digital’s assets include key partnerships and ANZ licences with BuzzFeed, Fandom, LADbible Group, POPSUGAR and Vox Media.
Vinyl publishes titles including Rolling Stone, Variety and Refinery29.
“The acquisition of Val Morgan Digital materially enhances Vinyl Group’s scale and consolidates our position as one of the largest and fastest growing media conglomerates in Australia,” said Vinyl Group CEO Josh Simons.
“I am excited to oversee our strategy as we usher in a new era of Adaptive Media at scale in Australia.
“This will enable advertisers meaningful brand connections in an integrated and immersive ecosystem, through a mix of our culture distribution channels.”
Val Morgan Digital generated revenue of about $10.7 million in calendar 2025.
The business was formerly a direct competitor to Vinyl Group’s publishing arm, Vinyl Media.
Following completion of the acquisition, Vinyl Media’s combined audience reach is expected to be about 47% of Australians online in the entertainment category and 51% in the news category.
Vinyl says this positions it with a comparable digital audience scale to major Australian media organisations including Nine and News Corp Australia.
The HOYTS Group CEO Damian Keogh has agreed to join the board of Vinyl Group.
And Vinyl has entered into a cooperation and services agreement with Val Morgan to cover outdoor and cinema advertising cross-sell.
The partnership is intended to enhance Vinyl Media’s integrated offering and create further value for advertisers through multi-channel campaign opportunities.
Keogh said the deal recognises the strength of consolidation, bringing the assets of Val Morgan Digital into Vinyl Group.
“We have a large portfolio of premium cultural assets together with significant national reach, providing a unique and compelling value proposition for advertisers,” he said.
“I am excited to be joining the Board, working with Josh and his passionate team to contribute to Vinyl Group’s next phase of growth.”
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