Catalano struck a $115 million deal to buy Australian Community Media (ACM), which was placed on the market last year.

The deal is backed by Catalano and the Thorney Investment Group, which is headed by billionaire investor, Alex Waislitz.

The sale is expected to be completed by June 30 and includes more than 160 regional mastheads, including The Newcastle Herald, The Examiner, The Border Mail and the Illawarra Mercury.

It also encompasses around 130 community-based websites and agricultural publications such as The Land, Queensland Country Life and Stock and Land.

As part of the deal, Nine will reportedly receive up to $10 million of advertising within ACM properties over three years.

Nine said the commercial ties that have been established during its ownership of ACM would continue following the sale.

For a brief period, this will include sharing publications between ACM titles and Nine’s metro mastheads The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian Financial Review.

“The sale of ACM is aligned with our strategy to exit non-core businesses and to focus on Nine’s portfolio of high-growth, digital assets,” Nine’s CEO, Hugh Marks, said.

“We will retain a commercial relationship with ACM and look forward to continuing to work with the business in areas where there are mutual benefits to both Nine and ACM.”

Marks added that the deal is beneficial to ACM and places the group “well on the path for the future”.

Nine shares were 1.7 per cent higher at $1.70 after the deal was announced yesterday morning.

Not a new rival for Domain

Catalano has shared a long, love-hate relationship with the company previously known as Fairfax, which was acquired by Nine last year.

He was property editor and marketing director for Fairfax’s The Age before he was made redundant in 2008, after 18 years and six days at the company.

With $1.84 in the bank, he decided to produce and publish a Melbourne-based real estate magazine to circulate for free in the suburbs.

He launched Metro Media Publishing in 2010, which included The Weekly Review – a competitor to Fairfax’s The Melbourne Weekly.

After being completely decimated by its new rival, Fairfax paid $35 million and merged 32 community titles into MMP, in exchange for half of the business.

In 2015, Fairfax went on to purchase the other half of MMP for $72 million.

The same year, Catalano rejoined Fairfax as Domain’s CEO.

In January last year, after successfully spinning Domain out as a separate entity on the ASX, Catalano resigned as CEO.

Sources have speculated Catalano’s acquisition of ACM could be part of a bigger plan to launch a real estate portal to rival  Domain.

However, Catalano told media news website Mumbrella the deal is none other than the beginning of a partnership with Domain and its majority owner, Nine.

“Why would I have my own real estate play when I’ve got a clearly defined partnership which includes promotion with the Nine Network for the next three years?,” he said.

“It’s ill-informed speculation without understanding.

“We’ve clearly done a deal [with Nine]. We clearly want to work together.

“The speculation doesn’t have any basis. It’s actually completely contrary to what’s in front of you.”