Sunraysia Television
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Media |
| Founded | 1985 |
| Founder | Eva Presser |
| Defunct | 2007 |
| Fate | Assets sold to WIN Corporation |
| Headquarters | Australia |
Area served | Australia |
Key people | Eva Presser (majority stakeholder) |
| Owner | Sabtel (Eva Presser's company), WIN Corporation |
Sunraysia Television was a publicly traded entity that owned Swan Television and Radio Broadcasters, the parent company of Channel Nine Perth, from 1989 until 2007. Although it was listed on the ASX, the majority stake was controlled by Eva Presser's Sabtel, holding between 44% and 50%, while WIN Corporation possessed 43.65%.
History
Sunraysia’s origins trace back to the Sunraysia region near Mildura, where it operated a single television licence, STV-8, which Eva Presser acquired in 1985.
In 1989, Sunraysia acquired Channel Nine Perth from Bond Media for A$95 million, prompted by cross-media ownership regulations. At the same time, it divested STV-8 to Bond Media for $18 million; Bond Media subsequently sold STV-8 to ENT Ltd. for an identical amount.
Following an unsuccessful takeover attempt by Kerry Stokes in 1994, his 21.2% shareholding was transferred to Bruce Gordon's WIN Corporation, which already owned 19.9%. Presser openly dismissed Stokes’ proposal as "uninvited" and "unequivocally" unwelcome.
Sale of Nine Perth
In February 2007, PBL Media revealed plans to acquire Swan Television and Radio Broadcasters from Sunraysia for $136.4 million. However, after competing bids were revised upward by WIN Corporation’s Bruce Gordon to $163.1 million, Sunraysia’s board accepted WIN’s offer in April. The transaction was finalized on 8 June 2007.
Sunraysia & the Pressers
Dan Presser, Eva’s husband, holds the position of executive chairman at Sabrands, the family business that manages Sunraysia Natural Beverages. Since 2013, Sabrands has owned the renowned Rosella company. The Pressers employ Sunraysia as their personal brand identity despite having no direct ties to the Sunraysia region—a name historically linked to a 1920s dried fruit promotion by the Australian Dried Fruits Association and unrelated to the Presser family.