Under media regulation, there must be a minimum number of media voices in a market - four in regional Australia, and five in metro areas.

“We certainly need to meet with government ASAP to discuss this,” Mr Catalano said. “This requirement, which is being forced upon us by the antiquated legislation that predates smartphones and the internet is completely at odds with our goals to build a business that does not have to rely on government handouts.

“We see a future where the voices in these important regional markets can be preserved and strengthened by a vibrant and viable media business model, serving journalism and advertising across multiple platforms. That’s why we are increasing our stake in Prime.”

The increased stake in Prime comes as Mr Catalano prepares to launch a raft of newspapers in regional areas. The executive chairman of ACM declined to comment on the specific location of the new print publications, but they will be in addition to the recently launched Northern Beaches Review and Northern Rivers Review. Mr Catalano was in talks with News Corp to buy its regional division last year. The discussions fell over and resulted in the print closure of more than 100 regional and community newspapers.

Like many media companies, ACM was hit by a sharp advertising downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic. In addition to receiving government funding to support the business during the pandemic, Mr Catalano has implemented several other measures to cut costs such as closing his print centres.

“We are transforming the business from a very capital heavy media company with manufacturing arms and huge capex requirements,” he said. “In the 12 months, we’ve either sold or closed six of those printers, which has removed a heavy cost burden on the business.

“We’ve introduced digital sales, we’ve invested in journalism teams, we’ve launched additional publications. We’ve launched two with plans to launch at least another five or six new publications in the coming months.”

Mr Catalano has said his company still generates between $350 million and $400 million in revenue annually. The newspapers have more than 80,000 digital subscribers, he said, but these figures are not publicly available.