Vinyl Group has announced it will acquire 100% of Pedestrian Group from Nine.
The deal, which has been described as being for "nominal consideration," involves no cash, debt, scrip or royalties, according to the ASX statement.
Nine acquired a majority stake in PEDESTRIAN.TV in 2015 for around $10 million, then took full ownership in 2018, purchasing the last 40% for $39 million.
The acquisition adds PEDESTRIAN.TV, Pedestrian Jobs, Openair Cinemas, and Pedestrian Studio to Vinyl's portfolio that already includes Concrete Playground, Mediaweek, Tone Deaf and ANZ licences for Refinery29, Rolling Stone, Variety, BuzzFeed and LADbible.
Vinyl CEO, Josh Simons wrote on LinkedIn that, "I have read PEDESTRIAN.TV almost every day for as long as I can remember," and that he respected "what this brand means for Australian youth culture."
"The point is this: we are not buying these assets to strip culture for parts. We are doing this because I believe these brands matter, and because the team I’ve built believes they can be made commercially stronger, more sustainable and more valuable inside a modern, technology-first company with the scale, focus and infrastructure to help them thrive."
In March, Vinyl Group also acquired Val Morgan Digital for $10.5 million in cash and shares. Amanda Bardas, the head of Val Morgan Digital and former group publisher, left the company in May, after six and a half years.
Last week, Vinyl made its head of editorial operations, Sarah Chapman, and Mediaweek’s head of editorial, Duane Hatherly redundant, in the latest wave of staff changes in the media group.
Completion of the Pedestrian deal is scheduled for 15 June 2026.
Image credit: Pedestrian Group/Vinyl Group
