Act leader David Seymour says the Government should allow NZME and Stuff to merge

The Government should allow the merger of two of New Zealand's biggest media publications, says one MP, who called the initial decision to block NZME's takeover of Stuff "a mistake".

Act leader David Seymour said businesses should be allowed to make their own decisions without the Government "imposing its own arbitrary constraints".

This comes after publicly listed NZME – the publisher of the Herald and Newstalk ZB – surprised the market this morning by lobbying the Government to allow it to buy Stuff for $1.

But the statement appears to have come as a surprise to Stuff and its owners, which say any conversations about a takeover were terminated last week.

Act Leader David Seymour said businesses should be allowed to make their own decisions without the Government "imposing its own arbitrary constraints". Photo / Mark Mitchell

Despite this, Seymour is throwing his weight behind the merger – which was blocked by the Commerce Commission in 2016, and then again in 2018 – when the commission cited "competition" issues".

"Nobody, including the commission, knows what the true prospects are for either company [NZME and Stuff] or a merged entity."

He added that business should be allowed to make the best go of it without Government imposing meaningless limitations.

And Seymour is not the only MP throwing his support behind the merger.

At the end of last year, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters came out strongly in support of NZME's bid to buy Stuff – its main commercial rival in the New Zealand market.

In December, he said the merger between the two publications was "in the greater public interest and national interest".

Peters has been approached for comment about today's development.

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters. Photo / Mark Mitchell

NZME this morning filed an urgent Commerce Commission application and wants to have the transaction complete by May 31.

"NZME continues to believe that it is the best owner for Stuff as it is best placed to preserve mastheads, newsrooms and jobs," NZME chief executive Michael Boggs said in a statement to the NZX.

"NZME considers that in the current New Zealand media landscape, NZME's acquisition of Stuff will not substantially lessen competition in any market."

NZME's statement this morning appeared to catch both Stuff and its Australian-based owners, Nine, by surprise.

In a statement, Stuff chief executive Sinead Boucher said: "This announcement was very surprising to both Nine [Stuff's owners] and ourselves."

She added that there was "no deal between NZME and Nine".

In a separate statement, Nine said: "Whilst Nine confirms that it has had discussions with NZME regarding the acquisition of Stuff, Nine notified NZME that it has terminated further engagement with NZME," it said it a statement to the ASX.