Australian Community Media
Australian Community Media (ACM) is an Australian regional and rural news publishing group with more than 100 brands, including The Canberra TimesThe Canberra TimesThe Canberra Times is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, founded by the Shakespeare family in 1926; it was owned from 1964 by Fairfax, Rural Press and others, and since 2019 by Australian Community Media.Open the full entry; in 2019 Nine sold it to a company controlled by interests associated with Antony CatalanoAntony CatalanoAntony Catalano is an Australian media and property-advertising businessman who founded Metro Media Publishing, was chief executive of Domain from 2013 to 2018 and in 2019 acquired Australian Community Media with Thorney Investment Group.Open the full entry and Thorney Investment Group.
Contents12 sections
Key facts
April 30, 2019Nine Announces Sale
Nine Entertainment announced the sale of its Australian Community Media and Printing business to a company controlled by interests associated with Antony Catalano and Thorney Investment Group for about $115 million in cash, $10 million of it payable after 12 months, with completion expected by June 30, 2019.[1]
At the time ACM had more than 160 regional publications; Nine chief executive Hugh Marks said the sale was “aligned with our strategy to exit non-core businesses.”[2]
Under the deal ACM would keep printing Nine’s metropolitan publications, and Nine would receive up to $10 million of advertising on ACM properties over three years.[3]
December 2019Tony Kendall Joins
Tony Kendall joined ACM in December 2019 as it was moving on from its Fairfax legacy and became managing director in 2020.[4]
November 2023First Proposal Rejected
Southern Cross Media Group (SCA) rejected a first deal proposal from ACM in November 2023.[5]
May 28, 2024Revised Proposal
SCA disclosed that ACM had proposed SCA acquire 14 of its daily print and digital news publications and its agriculture division; the SCA board decided to investigate, describing talks as preliminary and non-binding.[6]
June 27, 2024SCA Declines
SCA announced it would not pursue ACM’s proposal, saying the assets did not fit its audio-focused strategy and would not create value for shareholders.[7]
October 2025Horse Deals Shop
ACM Agri launched Horse Deals Shop, a specialist retail marketplace extending the Horse Deals brand where riders can read, browse and shop.[8]
March 2026Antony Catalano on Leave
After Antony Catalano was charged with offences including assault, the boards of ACM’s owner 20 Cashews Pty Ltd and of View Media Group Pty Limited placed him on leave until the matter is resolved.[9]
May 8, 2026Explore Wins INMA Award
ACM’s national travel brand Explore, distributed across more than 60 mastheads, won Best in Class (Asia/Pacific) at the 2026 INMA Global Media Awards.[10]
May 21, 2026Passendo Partnership
ACM became the first publisher in Australia to implement Passendo’s ad-serving technology end to end across its email newsletters.[11]
As of October 2026: Ownership and Scale
ACM is owned by 20 Cashews Pty Ltd, in which Thorney Opportunities Ltd and the private Thorney Investment Group each hold 25% and interests associated with Antony Catalano hold 50%.[12]
ACM says it has more than 100 brands and reaches over 5 million people each month (Roy Morgan, March 2026).[13]
Management is led by managing director Tony Kendall, and the editorial director is Rod Quinn, a former editor-in-chief of The Canberra Times.[4]
Related Organizations, Websites, and Public Accounts
Australian Community Media: Official website: https://acm.media/ (opens in a new window)[13]
Thorney Investment Group: Official website: https://thorney.com.au/ (opens in a new window)[12]
Sources
- AGREEMENT TO SELL AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY MEDIA AND PRINTING (opens in a new window)
- Catalano purchases Nine's regional papers (opens in a new window)
- Nine asset sale: Antony Catalano takes on new publishing challenge (opens in a new window)
- Leadership team | ACM Media (opens in a new window)
- SCA approached by Australian Community Media in new acquisition proposal (opens in a new window)
- Proposal from Australian Community Media (opens in a new window)
- Update on proposal from Australian Community Media (opens in a new window)
- New Equine Marketplace | ACM Media (opens in a new window)
- 'I am deeply ashamed': ACM's Antony Catalano to enter rehab after assault charge (opens in a new window)
- ACM's Explore wins prestigious global INMA award (opens in a new window)
- ACM partners with Passendo | ACM Media (opens in a new window)
- Investors | ACM Media (opens in a new window)
- ACM Media (opens in a new window)