47 SRN stations to be sold.
SRN stations here: https://www.srn.com.au
Australia’s biggest private radio network for sale after alleged family feud.
Australia’s biggest private radio network has been put up for sale for the first time in 40 years after an alleged feud between siblings.
Daily Telegraph Confidential :
Australia’s biggest and most mysterious private radio network is for sale for the first time in 40 years.
Confidential can reveal Super Radio Network (SRN), the company behind Sydney’s 2SM 1269, is looking for a buyer, with hopes of achieving a sale price as high as $200m.
It is understood the sale has been prompted by the disintegration of the relationship between co-owners and siblings Despina Priala and George Caralis, the children of SRN founder Bill Caralis, who died of a heart attack in July 2024 aged 81.
Insiders say the pair haven’t been on speaking terms for the last year, with contact sometimes limited between lawyers.
Dan Tepper of KPMG has been appointed to sell SRN. He is well known for selling Janet Cameron’s Grant Broadcasting group of regional radio stations for a staggering $300 million to the ASX- listed Australian Radio Network.
It comes days after the departure of chief executive Rhys Holleran and SRN announcing a new boss: Graham Mott, formerly of Nine Radio.
SRN, or Broadcast Operations Group, has a massive network of mostly regional radio stations.
The broadcaster’s biggest markets include Newcastle, Bathurst, Tamworth, Dubbo, Taree, Lismore and Tweed Heads.
SRN stations are in markets where radio broadcasting remains strong with audiences.
A further strength for the business is that the Caralis family owns not only the radio frequency licences but also an extensive portfolio of properties, including transmitter sites and spare land.
The Caralis’ hold some 50 stations and employ roughly 200 people.
Sydney is a jewel in the crown, where 2SM is based out of a large headquarters in Pyrmont. SRN’s Tweed Heads offices are also a significant asset for the business.
“It has been in the works for a long time,” a long-term staff member told Confidential.
“Their late father would be heartbroken to see it get to this. Bill was fiercely proud of the network he built and to see a split in the family that is seeing it sold up is tragic. George wants to modernise the company, invest, and make a go of it and Despina has different views, so they’re getting out.”y up to date with the Daily Telegraph.
Despina runs her own legal business based on the Gold Coast.
George has worked in the family company since he was a teenager. He’s now in his 50s.
“He has a good feel for radio”.
One country station manager said: “This has been a family company for so long, we have no idea what the future could look like.”
On Friday, Confidential revealed Holleran had exited the business after just a few months in the job.
Chris Martin AUS (2026-03-30)