Glenn Wheatley prepares to sell Queensland radio stations

The radio network backed by talent manager and industry veteran Glenn Wheatley is looking for a buyer for its two Queensland stations, a deal which could mark an end of an era for a company name with a 41-year history.

Industry sources familiar with the plans, who spoke anonymously because talks are confidential, said Mr Wheatley and Oceania Partners are preparing to commence a formal process to sell the two radio stations – 91.9 Sea FM and 92.7 Mix FM – on the Sunshine Coast.

Talks are currently in the early stages, the sources said, and there is no guarantee a deal will succeed. Mr Wheatley owns about 5 per cent of EON Broadcasting, while the rest is owned by Southern African firm, Oceania Capital Partners.

Mr Wheatley is widely known as the talent manager for popular Australian musicians such as John Farnham and Delta Goodrem, but in radio circles is also considered a pioneer of the FM bandwidth.

EON, which was started by Mr Wheatley, was the first commercial FM station to air in Australia when it launched in Melbourne in 1980. Today, that station is known as Triple M Melbourne. Mr Wheatley, who briefly served prison time for tax offences in 2007, returned to radio in 2013 when he bought the two Sunshine Coast stations for $17.75 million with Oceania Capital Partners. The deal occurred after the merger of Southern Cross and Austereo and reignited Mr Wheatley’s original radio station name, EON.

The two networks are the top performing radio stations on the Sunshine Coast. Mr Wheatley, Oceania Capital Partners and EON Broadcasting CEO John Williams then expanded the company with the acquisition of Sydney station 2CH for $5.6 million in 2017.

But as COVID-19 hit and most radio networks suffered large falls in advertising revenue, Mr Wheatley and Oceania Capital Partners decided to sell 2CH to Pacific Star Network’s SEN. Pacific Star Network, which is run by Melbourne sports broadcaster Craig Hutchison, acquired the station for $11.2 million and EON Broadcasting shareholders were awarded 10 million shares each at $0.225 per share.

It could be difficult to find a buyer for the two stations, given current media laws do not allow a person to control more than one commercial TV broadcasting licence or two commercial radio broadcasting licences in the same licence area. That rules out Southern Cross Austereo and Grant Broadcasters, which operate in that market. However, other broadcasters such as ACE and Bill Caralis’ Broadcasting Operations Group – who owns 4GY – could potentially pick up the station. The other alternative is a regional television broadcaster.

Mr Wheatley, who is based in Melbourne, was also one of the suitors who emerged to buy national newswire service, Australian Associated Press. Mr Wheatley was approached for comment.