The merger of Nine and Fairfax is due to complete this Friday.

Along with the merger of both companies, Nine will also end up owning Fairfax Media’s 54% share of Macquarie Media.

But would Nine like to own it all? Perhaps so.

Nine has responded to media speculation today with a short media statement saying the company has “had discussions” about the remaining 46% of shares in Macquarie Media, most of which are owned by John Singleton.

Singleton’s 32% of shares in Macquarie Media is the second highest stake in the company, behind Fairfax Media (soon to be Nine). The rest of the shares are held by high profile presenters such as Alan Jones and various management and key stakeholders in the business.

In a release to the stock exchange today, Nine confirmed “that it has had some preliminary discussions regarding the outstanding shares in MRN. Nine will make a further announcement should these discussions progress to a transaction.”