Done deal: News Limited’s takeover of FPC completed

News Limited did not disclose the sum which it paid the Hannan family, but the transaction included 46 FPC newspaper, magazine and online properties including Wentworth Courier, Vogue and villagevoice.com.au.

In the lead up to the takeover, there was much anxiety from staff who feared losing their jobs. A spokesman from News Limited confirmed that 15 out of the 350 employees from FPC Sydney were made redundant, along with a further 7 out of 70 from FPC’s North Queensland offices.

News Limited chairman and chief executive officer John Hartigan said that having now acquired FPC, he looked forward to the future of the publications. “Across the portfolio, these titles offer quality content, strong brands and leadership positions spanning numerous categories and markets,” he said. “As part of News we see enormous potential to offer advertisers new, creative ways to reach consumers and vastly expanded market penetration.”

The historic loss of Australia’s largest owned independent publishing companies was welcomed by FPC managing director Michael Hannan little. He said that, “News Limited is superbly placed to capitalise on the quality of the magazines and newspaper, to develop new solutions for advertisers and to offer outstanding career paths for our people.”

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