Commerce Commission seeking more info from NZME on Stuff takeover bid

The Commerce Commission is awaiting further information from NZME. Photo / File

The Commerce Commission is yet to publish a new application from NZ Herald-owner NZME to purchase rival Stuff, saying it's waiting on further information from the applicant.

NZME on Monday announced it had filed an urgent application with the commission and said it wanted to have the transaction completed by the end of the month.

The situation is complicated by Stuff-owner Nine Entertainment saying it had "terminated" talks with NZME over the potential acquisition. NZME responded saying it still had binding exclusivity on negotiations.

A Commerce Commission spokesperson told the Herald this morning that the buyout application had not been officially registered by NZME.

"We're seeking further information from the applicant before we can register it," a Commerce Commission spokesperson said.

The Herald understands the Commerce Commission requested additional information after office hours yesterday.

The Commerce Commission would not comment further on the matter.

This comes amid continuing confusion over whether any deal can still be reached between the two companies.

NZME's plea to the Government for approval to acquire Stuff for $1 was met with surprise from Nine, which promptly released a counter-statement saying the parties had withdrawn from the bid last week and had terminated talks.

NZME then released a second statement, saying the company was still in a binding exclusive negotiation period with Nine and did not accept that exclusivity had been validly terminated.

The Commerce Commission first made the decision to block a potential merger between the companies in 2017. It was then upheld all the way to the Court of Appeal.

NZME is now urging the Government to legislate to overturn the decision in the face of growing pressure in the media industry.

The Commerce Commission ruled that allowing the companies to merge would diminish media plurality and concentrate too much power in a single organisation.

However, the decision has long been controversial, with many critics saying that it didn't place adequate emphasis on digital tech companies - Facebook and Google - competing for advertising dollars with media companies.