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Arena Holdings

Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Media
Predecessor	Johnnic Communications Avusa Times Media Group Tiso Blackstar Group
Founded	2019
Headquarters	Johannesburg, South Africa
Key people	Pule Molebeledi (acting CEO)
Products	Publishing, entertainment, retail
Parent	Lebashe Investment Group
Website	arena.africa

Arena Holdings, formerly known as Tiso Blackstar Group, Johnnic Communications, Avusa and the Times Media Group, is a South African media company based in Johannesburg, South Africa. It publishes several major South African newspapers, including the Sunday Times, Business Day, Financial Mail, Herald, Sowetan and Daily Dispatch. It acquired its current name in 2019 when it was acquired by Lebashe Investment Group, the current owner of the company.

History

Arena Holdings's media assets originated in the publishing stable of the Omni Media Corporation, which was owned by Anglo American until the latter unbundled various media assets during the black economic empowerment (BEE) boom of the early post-apartheid period. Control of the media assets (then held under Times Media Limited) vested in Johnnic Holdings Limited, which was controlled by the BEE group National Empowerment Consortium.

Johnnic Holdings restructured in 2000, creating Johnnic Communications (Johncom) from the entertainment and publishing assets of the former Omni Media Corporation. By 2003, Johncom was valued at between R1.5 billion and R2 billion, and the following year its wholly-owned subsidiary, Johnnic Publishing, acquired New Africa Publications – which owned 100 per cent of the influential Sowetan newspaper – from New Africa Investments Limited. In March 2005, Johnnic Holdings unbundled its entire 62.5 per cent shareholding in Johncom, as Johnnic Holdings moved to refocus on the hotels and gaming sector. In October 2007, Johncom announced a proposal to change its name to Avusa in order to distinguish itself from its former parent company.

Shortly afterwards, in November 2007, a company called Koni Media Holdings launched a R7-billion bid to take over 100 per cent of Avusa, possibly with funding from the state-owned asset manager, the Public Investment Corporation. Because Koni Media's shareholders also included three high-level government officials – Titus Mafolo, Ronnie Mamoepa and Billy Modise – there was wide speculation that President Thabo Mbeki's government was involved in the takeover bid, a claim strongly denied by Koni Media and by Mbeki. The deal did not go through.

The Mvelaphanda Group launched a bid to take over Avusa in 2012, and in September of that year it unbundled Avusa's media assets into a new holding company, Times Media Group (formerly a Mvelaphanda subsidiary named Richtrau 229), which listed on the JSE on 25 September. In 2013, the Times Media Group took full ownership of BDFM (the publisher of the Business Day and Financial Mail), buying Pearson's 50 per cent stake in the venture. However, in the same year, Times Media sold Exclusive Books to a private equity firm in September 2013, and it sold Nu Metro to another private equity firm in January 2014.

The Blackstar Group (newly renamed Tiso Blackstar Group) acquired full ownership of the Times Media Group in June 2015, and the latter was renamed as Tiso Blackstar Group in June 2017. However, in 2019, Tiso Blackstar Group sold its print, broadcasting, and content assets to Lebashe Investment Group for R1.05 billion; Lebashe rebundled the assets in a new company called Arena Holdings. In September 2023, Arena Holdings announced that it was restructuring its news and entertainment businesses.

Publications and services

Magazines

• Computing SA
• Elle
• Financial Mail
• Home Owner
• SA Mining
• Soccerlife
• Top Huis

Newspapers

• Business Day
• Daily Dispatch
• The Herald
• The Sowetan
• The Sunday Times
• Sunday World
• The Times
• Weekend Post
• Times Media community newspapers
  • Algoa Sun
  • Go! & Express
  • Our Times
  • The Rep
  • Talk of the Town

Publishers

• New Holland Publishers
• Mediaguide
• Picasso Headline (pty) Ltd.

Digital

Avusa created a network of its own websites, named Times Media Live, in 2010. In 2011 this network began to expand from three sites to 21 in 2014, made up mostly of disparate websites within the Group (Times Live, Sowetan Live, BDLIVE, Financial Mail, HeraldLive and more) including the African representation of The Daily Telegraph. In doing so, Times Media Live became the second-largest publisher network and thereafter, Times Live the second largest website in South Africa. Times Media Live was the first large media-owned publisher to reach profitability in the 2013 financial year. In 2014 The Rand Daily Mail was resuscitated as an online-only brand.

Picasso Headline currently publishes:

• African Leader — Quarterly magazine published on behalf of the Black Management Forum (BMF)
• SA Schools and Tertiary Collection — An annual directory of SA schools and tertiary institutions
• Rock, Surf and Deep RSD — A monthly on-shelf salt water fishing magazine, including African Angling Destinations Guides
• Voice of Local Government — Quarterly magazine published on behalf of the South African Local Government Association (SALGA)
• Digest of SA Architecture — Annual magazine showcasing projects of the year, published on behalf of the SA Institute of Architects (SAIA), primarily for its members
• Architecture SA — Alternate monthly magazine published on behalf of the SA Institute of Architects (SAIA), primarily for its members
• New Agenda — A quarterly magazine published on behalf of the Institute for African Alternatives. This publication is the South African Journal of Social and Economic Policy.
• SA Banker — Quarterly magazine published on behalf of the Banking Association of South Africa (BASA) and the Institute of Bankers (IOB)
• Ochre Media — A film and television production company since 1999 who have produced Scandal!

In April 2019, Tiso Blacksar relaunched Vrye Weekblad.

Music

• Gallo Record Company

See also

• List of South African media
• Naspers
• Independent News and Media
• Caxton/CTP

References

1. Coulson, Michael (3 November 2006). "A classic value trap". News24. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
2. Wet, Phillip de (2000-04-06). "Johnnic e-Ventures revealed". ITWeb. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
3. Harris, Lance (2003-03-06). "Johnnic`s convergence dream unravels". ITWeb. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
4. "Nail, Johnnic merger approved". The Mail & Guardian. 2004-07-03. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
5. "Johncom profits soar 800%". News24. 24 November 2004. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
6. "Johncom unbundling approved". News24. 9 March 2005. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
7. "Johnnic unbundles Johncom". The Mail & Guardian. 2004-12-01. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
8. "Johncom proposes name change to Avusa". The Mail & Guardian. 2007-10-09. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
9. "Mbeki's men bid R7-billion to buy Johncom". The Mail & Guardian. 2007-11-04. Retrieved 2023-05-29.
10. "Company denies govt involvement in Johncom bid". The Mail & Guardian. 2007-11-05. Retrieved 2023-05-29.
11. "M&G says Sexwale deal not on the table". The Mail & Guardian. 2007-11-12. Retrieved 2023-05-29.
12. Wolff, Justin (2012-06-18). "Avusa deal: confidence in traditional media?". The Media Online. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
13. "Avusa Investors Flout PIC to Approve Mvelaphanda Takeover". Bloomberg. 16 August 2012. Archived from the original on 2013-06-28. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
14. "Times Media makes first move on JSE". Bizcommunity. 21 September 2012. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
15. "Pearson Sells Stake in South African Business Publisher BDFM". Bloomberg.com. 15 April 2013. Retrieved 2017-08-31.
16. "Exclusive Books sold for R435m". News24. 22 September 2013. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
17. Hogg, Alec (2014-01-06). "Times Media sells Nu Metro cinemas for R75m to KZN-based private equity firm". BizNews.com. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
18. "Tiso Blackstar renames, acquires Times Media Group and Kagiso Tiso Holdings share". Bizcommunity. 8 June 2015. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
19. "Times Media changes its name to Tiso Blackstar Group". BusinessTech. 12 June 2017. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
20. "Times Media becomes Tiso Blackstar". BusinessDay. 13 June 2017. Retrieved 2018-09-28.
21. "It's official: Arena Holdings is the new owner of Sunday Times, Business Day, Sowetan". Sunday Times. 6 November 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
22. "Arena Holdings prepares to restructure news and entertainment businesses". The Media Online. 2023-09-15. Retrieved 2024-01-25.
23. "Arena embarks on news and entertainment restructuring". Sunday Times. 15 September 2023. Retrieved 2024-01-25.
24. Times Live
25. Sowetan Live

External links

• Official website

• Companies based in Johannesburg
• Mass media companies of South Africa
• Mass media companies established in 2019