Australia’s richest person, Gina Rinehart, has re-emerged as a powerful figure in the media industry after backing former Seven West Media executive Bruce McWilliam’s growing stake in Southern Cross Media.
Companies linked to Rinehart revealed on Wednesday that she entered into an agreement with McWilliam in mid-April, lending tens of millions of dollars to support his investment in the company. The arrangement marks Rinehart’s first major move into Australian media in almost a decade.
Documents lodged with the ASX show Hanrine Finance, a company owned by Rinehart’s mining giant Hancock Prospecting, has the right to take control of almost 44 million shares — equivalent to 9.15 per cent of Southern Cross Media — if McWilliam fails to meet the terms of the agreement.
Although the deal does not represent a direct shareholding for Rinehart, it effectively places her at the centre of one of Australia’s largest media groups. Southern Cross Media expanded significantly earlier this year following its acquisition of Seven West Media, bringing together the Seven Network, Triple M and Hit radio brands, along with West Australian Newspapers.
The investment represents Rinehart’s most significant media involvement since her high-profile stake in Network Ten. She acquired 10 per cent of the broadcaster in 2010 and later joined the board before the network entered voluntary administration in 2017.
Rinehart also became a major shareholder in Fairfax Media in 2012, but sold out three years later following disagreements over editorial independence at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
Meanwhile, media billionaire Kerry Stokes remains Southern Cross Media’s largest shareholder with a 20 per cent stake and continues to hold significant influence within the company despite reducing his ownership following the merger.
McWilliam, a former commercial director at Seven West Media and long-time Stokes lieutenant, has rapidly increased his investment in Southern Cross Media over recent months. In mid-April, he acquired almost $14 million worth of shares to build a 5.3 per cent holding before purchasing a further 20 million shares worth $11.2 million earlier this month.
He now controls 9.73 per cent of the company, with most of the acquisitions financed through Rinehart-backed funding.
McWilliam has maintained his purchases are based purely on value.
“I believe in the company and the shares came up at a good price given what they were at the merger – a top national TV network and strong national radio network,” he said last month.
However, speculation continues to grow that McWilliam may seek a seat on the Southern Cross board, a move some shareholders — including Melbourne businessman Alex Waislitz — have publicly supported.
The company is currently searching for two independent directors after former chairman Heith Mackay-Cruise announced his departure.
