Two of Australia's rival newspaper publishers - Fairfax Media and APN News & Media - have formed an alliance in order to promote their advertising across a wider area of the country.
The deal will allow Fairfax to run its classified ads in APN's regional papers while APN will be able to reach the country's major cities with its ads through Fairfax.
Fairfax and APN advertisers will therefore be able to bundle print and online advertising, while they will also continue to be able to buy online-only or print-only classified ads.
Fairfax's chief executive Brian McCarthy called is "a very significant agreement."
APN's chief executive Brendan Hopkins said: "We expect both advertisers and consumers to benefit from this alliance."
It may well be Hopkins's last significant act. He is to leave the company at end of this year. Some 32% of APN is owned by the Irish publisher, Independent News & Media, headed by Gavin O'Reilly.
Source: B&T
