Summarised by Centrist
Canadian-born businessman Jim Grenon has become the largest shareholder in NZME, the media company that owns The New Zealand Herald and Newstalk ZB, after increasing his stake to just under 20%.
Grenon, a director of the publicly listed company, acquired an additional 1,780,123 shares, according to a notice filed with the NZX. The purchase lifts his holding to more than 19.90%, making him NZME’s biggest shareholder.
Under New Zealand law, he cannot increase his stake beyond 20% without launching a full takeover offer to all shareholders.
Australian investment firm Spheria Asset Management remains the second-largest shareholder, holding 18.97% of the company. NZME chair Steven Joyce also recently increased his stake, purchasing 50,000 shares to bring his total holding to 100,965 shares.
Grenon first drew attention in March 2025 when he increased his shareholding to 9.3%, before raising it to just under 18.5% in September.
Grenon founded Canadian investment firm Tom Capital Management in 1995 and moved to New Zealand in 2012.
