Macquarie Bank is well known for aggressively driving profit margins for the benefit of its investors.
The Bank’s $173 million takeover offer for RG Capital will bring what has been a quietly efficient company into a brighter spotlight, as Macquarie Bank uses it as the first asset in a new media fund.
What will this mean for staff and listeners? radioinfo put the questions to RG Capital CEO Rhys Holleran.
radioinfo: The Directors have recommended the Macquarie Bank acquisition. Why is it a good move for RG Capital?
Holleran: The move is good for the company because it gives it access to capital to grow the business into the future.
radioinfo: Has Reg Grundy had enough of radio?
Holleran: I think Reg has made a magnificent contribution to the industry over a period of 60 years or more. I guess its simply time, nothing wrong with that.
radioinfo: There were two things that could worry your staff and shareholders – one is the penalty payment if the deal falls apart. Can you comment on that.
Holleran: Staff have nothing to be concerned about and we remain very confident in this deal and the future of our company.
radioinfo: The other is the strategy mentioned by Macquarie Bank of “more efficient and lower cost structures” and “scale.” Is this code for sacking staff and centralising functions?
Holleran: RG Capital Radio is a seed asset for Macquarie. The fact we are the first is recognition of how capable our staff are at running an efficient asset already.
radioinfo: Macquarie Bank also said they intended to gain growth by a “common interface” for advertising strategies – what is planned?
Holleran: Macquarie can comment for themselves on this but from our perspective, larger scale always gives advertisers some upside – whether that’s integrated advertising ideas or just the ability to buy from one source.