After receiving approval from the Commerce Commission last week, Ovato Retail Distribution New Zealand has been sold to Are Media in what is described as a positive move for the business as well as the magazine industry.
Since the consolidation of the Bauer Media and Pacific Magazines businesses in early 2020 (renamed Are Media) and the subsequent financial difficulty that the wider Ovato business has experienced as a result of Covid-19, it has been evident that Are Media needs to protect their route to market.
For Ovato, the sale allows it to focus on its core printing business and to trade through its current challenges.
For Are Media, the sale allows it to continue its efforts to strengthen the distribution platform for magazines to better support Supermarkets, Bookstores and other retailers and to ensure the category has a long-term future for all publishers.
Are Media is a 16.4 percent shareholder of Ovato.
“As the largest magazine publisher in Australia and New Zealand, Are Media is committed to the magazine business and is keen to ensure its titles and those of other magazine publishers have a secure route to market for many years into the future,” says Tony Edwards General Manager, Ovato Retail Distribution.
Ovato will continue to provide print services as normal.
