- Trade Me has acquired a 50 percent stake in Stuff Digital, forming a new partnership
- The deal excludes masthead publishing, Neighbourly and events, focusing only on digital news and listings
- Both businesses expect strong growth by linking news content with property and motoring platforms
Trade Me has taken a 50 percent stake in Stuff Digital, bringing together New Zealand’s biggest news website and its leading online classifieds platform. The partnership was announced jointly by both companies and marks a major move in the local media and property sectors.
Stuff Digital will remain a standalone company, but the partnership means tighter integration between news and Trade Me’s strong property and automotive listings. The deal aims to create a serious competitor to NZME’s offerings such as the NZ Herald and OneRoof.
The new partnership does not include Stuff Group’s masthead publishing arm, which owns titles such as The Post, The Press, and the Sunday Star-Times. It also excludes Neighbourly and Stuff Events. Earlier this year, Stuff Digital and Masthead Publishing were officially separated into different businesses within the Stuff Group.
Under the new deal, Stuff’s property section will be rebranded as Trade Me Property, with shared listings and ads across both platforms. Stuff.co.nz reaches around 2.3 million users each month, while Trade Me draws about 1.5 million, including one million to its property section alone.
“This is the first time since the management buyout of Stuff five years ago that I have accepted an equity partner into the business,” said Stuff CEO Sinead Boucher. “It was important to me that we found the right partner at the right time in our growth strategy, protecting our fiercely independent media business which is loved and trusted by millions of New Zealanders. Trade Me is that partner.”
Trade Me CEO Anders Skoe agreed, saying, “We’ve made this investment because we think there is quite a bit of growth and opportunity tied to this partnership.”
Staffing at Stuff Digital will remain unchanged for now, with both CEOs describing the next steps as “business as usual”. The focus will be on aligning news with Trade Me’s reach in property and motors. They said more collaborative initiatives will follow.
Boucher said the partnership felt like a full-circle moment, as Trade Me was once owned by Fairfax, the former owner of Stuff. The companies confirmed that conversations about the deal began last year.
Financial details have not been released. The new Stuff Digital board will have four members: two from each company. Boucher will serve as chair, with Stuff holding operational control through her casting vote. Trade Me says it supports Stuff’s editorial independence and code of ethics.
The transaction is expected to be finalised in the coming months.