Vinyl Group Acquires Time Out Australia While Completing $2.4M Share Placement
Vinyl Group acquires Time Out Australia and completes $2.4 million placement
Vinyl Group has signed an agreement to acquire Time Out Australia for nominal consideration from Time Out Group plc, while simultaneously completing a $2.4 million placement with strategic investors. The transaction involves the purchase of the entire issued share capital of Print & Digital Publishing Pty Ltd, with completion scheduled for 24 June 2026, subject to a 14-day cooling off period.
The placement was led by a cornerstone investment from an existing Top 10 shareholder, with additional institutional support. Vinyl issued 44,444,445 fully paid ordinary shares at $0.054 per share, representing a 10% discount to the last closing price on 5 June 2026. Settlement was expected to occur on 11 June 2026, with shares expected to commence trading on 12 June 2026.
Time Out Australia is currently operating profitably and the transaction is expected to be earnings accretive in FY27, with a positive contribution to Vinyl Group EBITDA on a pro forma basis.
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What is Time Out and why does it matter for Vinyl?
Time Out is one of the world’s most recognisable urban culture brands spanning food, travel, entertainment and city discovery. Time Out England now pursues a franchise model for selected local markets, partnering with established media operators that have local audience insight, commercial relationships and operating scale, in return for ongoing royalty fees.
Vinyl will own and operate Time Out Australia across digital platforms, social media and events. The addition is highly complementary to Vinyl’s existing Concrete Playground business, both operating in the cultural discovery and experiential content space.
The franchise agreement structure
Under the long-term Franchise Agreement with Time Out England, Vinyl will pay an ongoing revenue royalty rate plus annual minimum guarantees in respect of the Australian market. The agreement has an initial five-year term with automatic annual renewals thereafter unless terminated by either party.
The licence includes operation of Time Out branded websites across Australian cities, social media platforms, and events and experiential activations. This structure provides Vinyl with premium brand access while Time Out England retains royalty income—a capital-light expansion model for both parties.
Expanded national audience reach approaches 55%
The combined internet audience reach of Vinyl Media increases from 53% (with Pedestrian) to approximately 55% of Australians, based on Ipsos iris de-duplicated data from January 2026, measuring Australians aged 14+. This positions Vinyl alongside Australia’s largest media organisations at national scale.
The Val Morgan Digital acquisition, completed in April 2026, was the prior step in this audience reach trajectory, pushing Vinyl Media to approximately 47% in Entertainment and 51% in News before the Time Out addition brings the combined figure to around 55% of Australians.
Time Out complements Vinyl Media’s existing portfolio including Concrete Playground, BuzzFeed, Rolling Stone AU/NZ and Mediaweek.
| Brand Category | Key Assets |
|---|---|
| Culture & Lifestyle | Time Out, Concrete Playground |
| Entertainment | Rolling Stone AU/NZ, BuzzFeed |
| Industry | Mediaweek |
| International Licences | Variety, Refinery29, POPSUGAR, LADbible, SPORTbible |
Placement details and use of funds
The placement was priced at $0.054 per share, representing a 10% discount to the last closing price on 5 June 2026. Vinyl utilised available capacity under ASX Listing Rule 7.1 for the issue. Red Leaf Securities acted as Lead Manager to the placement and will be paid a fee of 6% on direct funds raised. The new shares rank equally in all respects with existing fully paid ordinary shares.
Funds raised through the placement will be applied towards:
- Integration costs for Time Out Australia acquisition
- Working capital requirements
- Technology and systems integration
- Commercial integration initiatives
- Audience growth initiatives across broader Vinyl portfolio
The cornerstone investment from an existing Top 10 shareholder signals insider confidence in the transaction. Funds are specifically earmarked for integration rather than general corporate purposes, indicating disciplined capital allocation.
Strategic rationale and business model
Vinyl is building a technology-led platform that brings digital expertise, process innovation and operational scalability to legacy media assets. The business model has self-reinforcing momentum: Vinyl combines premium cultural assets into an integrated and immersive ecosystem, then expands audience reach through premium content and technology-enabled best practice.
Established cultural digital assets are valuable because they combine audience scale, brand trust and cultural relevance that are difficult, costly and time-consuming to build organically. The scale of Vinyl’s ecosystem offers a compelling option for advertisers, with the value of the ecosystem compounding over time through expanded audience reach.
Positioning as acquirer of choice
This acquisition establishes Vinyl as the leading partner for international cultural digital assets and sub-scale operators wanting to maintain a presence in the Australian market. The ecosystem scale offers a compelling option for advertisers, with compounding value over time.
Time Out enhances Vinyl’s ability to connect audiences with real-world experiences, strengthening the company’s position at the intersection of content and experiential revenue. Vinyl is positioning itself as a consolidation vehicle for the fragmented digital media sector—each acquisition increases platform value and reduces competition for future deals.
CEO commentary on strategic positioning
Josh Simons, Vinyl Group CEO & Executive Director
“This is a highly strategic acquisition that brings one of the world’s most iconic culture brands into the Vinyl Media portfolio. Time Out strengthens our position at the intersection of content and real-world experiences, and expands our reach into high-value audiences across Australia. It is another important step in building a scaled, premium publishing platform.”
Rob Biagioni, CEO of Time Out Media, said: “Australia is an important territory for Time Out, and we’re proud of the business and audience we have built over many years. Vinyl has a strong track record of growing premium media brands and connecting audiences with real-world experiences, making them the ideal partner for Time Out in Australia. We are excited to work together to continue growing the Time Out brand and helping Australians discover the very best of their cities.”
Vinyl hosted an investor webinar at 10.30am on Thursday 11 June. Management commentary emphasises “intersection of content and real-world experiences”, signalling events and experiential revenue as a growth vector beyond pure digital advertising.
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FY27 earnings outlook and integration timeline
Time Out Australia has historically been profitable. The transaction is expected to be earnings accretive in FY27, with a positive contribution to Vinyl Group EBITDA forecast on a pro forma basis. Completion is scheduled for 24 June 2026, subject to a 14-day cooling off period.
Vinyl entered this acquisition phase from an improving financial base, with a 49% revenue surge to $11.4 million in 1H FY26 accompanied by a 14% reduction in operating expenses and a cash flow positive Q2, demonstrating that the underlying platform was generating operating leverage before the media brand rollup accelerated.
This acquisition was announced alongside the Pedestrian Group acquisition from Nine Digital Pty Ltd, announced 9 June 2026. Profitability from day one differentiates this from typical growth-stage media acquisitions, providing a near-term catalyst for earnings-focused investors in FY27.
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