THE NEWS WRAP: John Singleton looks to invest in TV broadcaster

Macquarie Radio Network director John Singleton has revealed he is “very interested” in investing in regional Seven Network affiliate Prime Media.

The move comes after Prime’s chairman, Paul Ramsay, sold his 30% stake in the company.

Prime could become a takeover target if media regulations limiting the reach of metropolitan broadcasters are lifted, allowing the major television networks to purchase their regional affiliates.

Newspaper launches

Morry Schwartz, the publisher of The Monthly, released the first issue of his new weekly newspaper, The Saturday Paper, over the weekend.

“The internet has smashed the business model of those papers by providing a more cost-effective platform for advertising,” Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull said at the newspaper’s launch.

“Even though I expect to disagree with a lot of things in your paper, I probably agree with quite a few too. I welcome that diversity. We should rejoice in our democracy and the diversity of our news and our journalism.”

Telstra completes Sensis sale

Telstra announced on Friday it has completed the sale of a 70% stake in its Sensis directory business to private equity firm Platinum Equity for $454 million.

The deal has already received approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board, and is part of a strategic shift in focus at the carrier towards cloud-based network applications and services (NAS).

“Sensis is now the leading digital marketing services and directories business in Australia. To drive further momentum, we believe it is the appropriate time to introduce Platinum Equity, as a strategic partner,” Telstra chief executive David Thodey said.

Overnight

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up to 16321.7. The Aussie dollar is down to US89.03 cents.