Source : THE AGE NEWS
Media boss Antony Catalano has taken a leave of absence from the boards of two publicly listed companies, days after facing assault charges that prompted him to stand down from the executive chairmanship of his newspaper business.
Catalano, who was charged with assault, false imprisonment and making threats to kill a woman, has stepped down as an executive director at financial services group Keybridge Capital and children’s chocolate manufacturer Yowie Group.
“This leave relates to personal matters concerning Mr Catalano that are currently before the courts,” Keybridge Capital said in a statement. Yowie Group, of which Keybridge is a majority shareholder, released an identical statement.
Catalano, also executive chair of Australian Community Media and owner of classified group View Media, was charged by Victoria Police with dragging a woman around an apartment by her hair and ankles and swinging a clothes iron at her head, in an alleged assault that left her with a broken coccyx.
He was released on bail on Friday and, in a statement, he said he would immediately check in to a rehabilitation facility.
Meanwhile, Catalano’s deep-pocketed backer Alex Waislitz said all staff at their companies would be “supported and heard” and the firms would prioritise their long-term interests and their employees and partners.
Waislitz, who partnered with Catalano to buy the stable of newspapers including The Canberra Times and The Newcastle Herald under the Australian Community Media group in 2019 for $125 million, said the allegations against Catalano were “confronting and concerning”.
“The immediate priority is the well-being of the employees and all stakeholders of Australian Community Media and View Media Group,” he said. “Both companies will ensure that all employees are supported and heard.”
This masthead reported that there had been rumours of a potential sale of the Community Media business. Waislitz did not address that directly but he said both it and View were strong organisations with experienced teams that would run them in Catalano’s absence.
“Both companies will continue to protect their long-term interests, their employees, partners and other stakeholders whilst maintaining their integrity and governance practices,” Waislitz said.
“My thoughts are with all those affected by this matter.”
Waislitz, a billionaire investor and philanthropist and former vice-president of Collingwood Football Club, was travelling in the United States when news of Catalano’s arrest broke. He owns a 50 per cent stake in ACM through his Thorney Investment Group. Catalano owns the other share.
Recently, he has been the subject of some high-profile legal disputes, though none included any criminal allegations against him. In December, Waislitz agreed to pay his ex-wife Heloise Pratt, daughter of cardboard baron Richard Pratt, $325 million as part of a settlement made on the eve of a trial that allowed him to retain control of Thorney Investments.
He has also been drawn into a Victorian Supreme Court battle between his fiancée Rebekah Behbahani and her sister, Real Housewives of Melbourne star Venus Behbahani.
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Kishor Napier-Raman is a senior business writer for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. Previously he worked as a CBD columnist and reporter in the federal parliamentary press gallery.Connect via X or email.
