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overview
holdings
landmarks
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landmarks
This chronology is indicative only. It covers -
Context is provided by the broader communications and
media timeline on this site.
antecedents
1919 Sydney Smiths Weekly launched by James
Joynton Smith, with Robert
Packer as Manager
1921 Packer given one-third share of Smiths Weekly
1923
Frank Packer (Kerry's dad) becomes cadet on Joynton Smith's
Sydney Daily Guardian, managed by father Robert
1931 Robert Packer becomes General Manager of Associated
Newspapers
1932 Frank Packer and former federal Treasurer Ted Theodore
form Sydney Newspapers Ltd
1933 Robert Packer leaves Associated Newspapers
beginnings
1933 Australian Women's Weekly launched
1936 Sydney Newspapers acquires Daily Telegraph from
Denison's Associated Newspapers,
forming Consolidated Press Ltd - later Australian Consolidated
Press (ACP)
1939 Sunday Telegraph launched
1954 Weekend Telegraph launched
1958 Observer weekly current affairs magazine launched
into television
1956 Packers get Sydney television licence (TCN 9)
1956 Fairfax buys Woman's
Day
1957 Australian Consolidated Press (ACP) formed when Packers
buy Theodore stake
1960 Fairfax and ACP establish Suburban Publications
1960 Bulletin magazine bought for £400,000 and
merged with Observer
1960 Packers buy Maitland Mercury
1960 Nine television network established when Packers
buy 62% of Melbourne station GTV-9 from Pye for £3.76m
1962 Frank Packer makes unsuccessful bid for America's
Cup
1964-76 Robert Clyde Packer (Kerry's elder brother) is
a member of NSW parliament
1965 STW-9 Perth launched
out of newspapers
1972 Packers sell mastheads of the Daily and Sunday
Telegraphs to Murdoch for
$15 million
1972 launch Cleo magazine
1974 Kerry becomes chairperson on his father's death
1975 Packers buy broadcast rights to Australian Open golf
event
1976 Clyde sells stake in Packer group to younger brother
Kerry for about $4 million
1977 starts World Series Cricket
1983 privatises Consolidated Press, subsequently floated
as CPH
1983 sells selected leisure and special interest magazines
to Hannan family
1983 buys Newcastle Waters cattle station, forms Consolidated
Pastoral Co
1984 takes 10% stake in UK station TV-AM (subsequently
increased to 24% and sold)
1986 buys US-based Valassis shopping coupon group, competing
with Murdoch's Activmedia
the Bond deal
1987 sells Nine network to Alan Bond
for around $1bn
1988 buys Fairfax Magazines
1988 pays £50m for 3.5% stake in UK fibres and chemicals
group Courtaulds (subsequently sold)
1988 buys Westralia Square development site in Perth for
$270m
1989 CPH pays $130m for chemical manufacturing division
of Monsanto Australia, renamed Chemplex
1989 makes multi-billion dollar bid for UK tobacco, packaging
and insurance conglomerate BAT Industries Plc
1989 sells part of Westralia Square site for $55m
1989-92 employs Al 'Chainsaw' Dunlap to slash staff
1989 buys controlling stake in ANI engineering group
1990 regains control of Nine network Sydney, Melbourne
and Brisbane stations for around $250m
1991 sells ANI for reported $180m profit
1991 unsuccessful bid to buy Fairfax
1992 sells 51% of Valassis for US$370m
1992 CPH sells Offset Alpine Printing
1992 buys 9.7% of Westpac bank (subsequently sold)
ACP floated
1992 ACP floated in deal valued at $1.2 billion
1993 CPH sells 50% of Chemplex to Huntsman Chemical Corporation
of the USA for US$70m
1993 CPH participates in Huntsman's US$1bn purchase of
US-based Texaco Chemical
1993 launches She magazine as partnership with
Hearst
1994 Packer forms Publishing & Broadcasting Ltd (PBL)
through merger of ACP and Channel 9 Sydney, Melbourne,
Brisbane, Darwin
1996 James Packer becomes managing director of PBL
1997 sells remaining Valassis stake
1997 buys stake in Matrix Telecommunications (later renamed
Easycall)
1998 gains 25% stake in Foxtel
1998 takes 12% stake in Challenger International, later
increased to 19%
1998 Nine Network sells stake in WTN video agency to Associated
Press (AP)
1999 takes over Crown casino
1999 buys Consolidated Meat Group
Hoysts takeover
1999 gains control of Hoyts cinema group for around $620m
1999 Hoyts sells cinemas in Poland
1999 floats ecorp
1999 takes stake in One.Tel
2000 Hoyts sells cinemas in UK
2000 CPH buys 10% stake in Himachal Futuristic telecommunications
for $396m
2000 forms $250m venture capital fund KVP Ventures with
Indian partners
2001 One.Tel goes bust
2001 CPH sells 14.9% stake in Fairfax
2001 eCorp partnership with Charles Schwab dissolved
2002 She magazine closed
Challenger and Burswood
2003 Challenger International and CPH Investments announce
merger
2003 major Hoyts America operations sold to Regal
Entertainment
2003 eCorp privatised by PBL
2003 Packer sells Westralia Square site for est $20m (overall
$200m loss)
2004 gains control of Burswood casino after $686m bid
2004 PBL forms joint venture with Betfair online gaming
group
2004 sale of Wizard stake to GE
2004 CPH sells Hoyts to PBL (taking interest in PBL to
39.1%) and WAN for aggregate $520m
2006 PBL buys further 2.7% of seek.com.au for $35.2m,
taking stake to 27.1%
2006 increases stake in carsales.com.au to 43.9%
from media to gambling
2006 PBL announces move to acquire CPH 46% stake in Aspers
(UK joint with Damian Aspinall) for $100m
2006 PBL transfers US$900m Macau casino/resort licence
to joint venture with Melco International
2006 announces plan to transfer media operations (ACP
Magazines, Nine Network (inc stake in Sky News), 50% stake
in ninemsn and stake in carsales.com.au) to PBL Media
- new joint venture between PBL and CVC
Asia Pacific - with PBL receiving net cash proceeds of
$4.54bn and 50% stake in PBL Media
2007 PBL Media announces it will acquire 100% of Channel
Nine Perth from Sunraysia Television
for $136.4m
2007 launches myhome.com.au (48.75% PBL Media, 48.75%
Microsoft)
2007 PBL and Macquarie Bank agree to buy Canadian casino
operator Gateway Casinos Income Fund for US$1.2bn
2007 PBL Media pays $250m for Newcastle and northern NSW
television network NBN
2007 PBL sells further 25% stake in PBL Media Holdings
Pty Ltd to CVC for $515m
2007 PBL sells Ticketek and Acer Arena interests to PBL
Media for $210m
2007 PBL and Macquarie Bank pay €357m for 66% of
Immobilien Scout real estate site
2007 Emap sells its 25 Australian
magazine titles (inc Zoo, FHM, Australasian
Dirt Bike, New Woman, Mother & Baby,
Pregnancy & Birth and Tracks) to
ACP Magazines for $94m
2007 Crown LTD (PBL casinos arm) spun off from PBL as
separate entity 32.9% owned by Consolidated Press Holdings
2007 Crown Ltd agrees to acquire US casino operator Cannery
Casino Resorts for $US1.79bn
2008 James Packer and Lachlan Murdoch make joint bid (later
abandoned) to privatise Consolidated Press Holdings
2008 The Bulletin closes
2008 National Magazine Company (Hearst) acquires all of
ACP-NatMag joint venture (weekly magazines Best,
Reveal and Real People) from Australian
Consolidated Press
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