Bruce McWilliam has gained public support from fellow Southern Cross Media shareholder Alex Waislitz as the former Seven executive builds a near 10 per cent stake in the television, radio and publishing group.
As The Australian reports, McWilliam now holds 9.73 per cent of Southern Cross, making him the company’s second-largest shareholder behind the Stokes family’s 20.3 per cent stake through SGH.
Waislitz, who owns 7.53 per cent of Southern Cross through 19 Cashews Pty Ltd, has called for McWilliam to be given a role on the company’s board.
“He would clearly add considerable firepower to the board and would be an ideal director to support the CEO to refine and deliver his action plan for the company,” Waislitz told the publication
McWilliam increases Southern Cross stake
McWilliam, a former commercial director at Seven and long-time associate of Kerry Stokes, has spent about $26 million buying Southern Cross shares over the past two months.
His holding has increased since he first emerged as a substantial shareholder in April, following the merger between Seven West Media and Southern Cross earlier this year.
McWilliam told The Australian in April that he remained confident in the company’s media assets.
“I believe in the company, and the shares came up at a good price given what they were at before the merger,” McWilliam said.
“They were almost half down, and it’s a top TV network and strong radio network – both with national platforms.”
Board change creates opening
The push comes during a period of board and executive change at Southern Cross.
Heith Mackay-Cruise will step down as chairman and retire as a director on 30 June. Teresa Dyson has been named chair-elect and will become independent non-executive chairman on 1 July.
Ido Leffler is also stepping down as a director, creating further movement on the board.
Southern Cross has indicated it is seeking independent non-executive directors. McWilliam’s long association with Stokes may therefore be considered as part of any board assessment.
Rohan Lund leads post-merger business
Rohan Lund, a former Seven executive, was appointed managing director and CEO of Southern Cross in April. He replaced Jeff Howard, who stepped down in February ahead of the group’s December half-year results.
The merged company includes the Seven Network, Triple M, the Hit Network and West Australian Newspapers.
In its first combined post-merger half-year results, Southern Cross reported total revenue of $1.008 billion, down 1.5 per cent.
Television revenue fell 2.1 per cent to $712 million, while audio revenue rose 3.2 per cent to $216.5 million.
No dividend was declared, with the company focused on reducing debt.
Main image: Bruce McWilliam