Vinyl Group Appoints ByteDance Exec as COO After Val Morgan Digital Deal
Vinyl Group restructures leadership with ByteDance veteran Jonathon Oake as COO following US$10.5M Val Morgan Digital acquisition. The deal adds BuzzFeed, LADbible, and Fandom to its portfolio.
Australian media company Vinyl Group has appointed Jonathon Oake, a five-year ByteDance veteran, as its new chief operating officer following the completion of its US$10.5 million acquisition of Val Morgan Digital.
Three New Executives Join Restructured Leadership Team
The appointment is one of three senior hires announced by Vinyl Group as it integrates the Val Morgan Digital portfolio into its operations.
Michael Globan joins as chief financial officer. He previously served as financial director at Warner Music Group's WMX label services division, with prior experience at Dentsu and Ernst and Young. Jorge Nigaglioni, who previously held the CFO role, transitions to a newly created chief integration officer position, responsible for post-acquisition systems consolidation and combined benefits realization across acquired businesses.
Oake spent five years at ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, as global head of publishing operations and solutions, overseeing publisher monetization and go-to-market strategy across more than 50 markets. He previously held senior roles at Optus and Foxtel.
CEO Josh Simons said: "The completion of the Val Morgan Digital acquisition represents a significant step change in scale for Vinyl Group. These appointments ensure we have the operational, integration and financial leadership capability required to execute at that scale."
Acquisition Adds BuzzFeed, LADbible and Fandom to Portfolio
The Val Morgan Digital deal, valued at US$7 million in cash and US$3.5 million in shares, adds BuzzFeed, LADbible, PopSugar, Thrillist, and Fandom to Vinyl Group's existing portfolio.
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Val Morgan Digital recorded US$10.7 million in revenue in 2025, representing a 73% uplift for Vinyl Media, with US$2.5 million in annualized EBITDA. The combined portfolio now reaches 47% of Australians in entertainment content and 51% in news.
Vinyl Group describes itself as an "adaptive media company" and licenses Rolling Stone, Variety, and Refinery29 locally, while owning Media Week, The Brag, and Concrete Playground. The company has rebranded its media division as Vinyl Media following the acquisition.
The company's audience grew 250% in FY25 through acquisitions, with total views scaling from 34.5 million to 115 million.
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Financial Pressure Accompanies Scale Push
Vinyl Group's leadership restructure comes alongside notable financial headwinds. The company posted a net loss of US$3.1 million on revenue of US$11.4 million in the first half of FY26.
Two senior commercial leaders, Batoul Peters and Jack Castles, have departed following the acquisition. Board member Linda Jenkinson also resigned, with Ken Gaunt replacing her as chair. HOYTS CEO Damian Keogh joined the board following the Val Morgan deal.
Vinyl Group also disclosed, after an initial delay, that it issued 1.8 million new shares for corporate advisory services related to the acquisition, later revealing this to the ASX without identifying the recipient.
The company's path to profitability will depend significantly on whether its expanded audience reach, now covering roughly half of all Australians across entertainment and news, can be converted into sustainable advertising revenue under the new leadership structure.
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