Established in 1997, Essential Media is an integrated provider of research, strategy, media and communications services, as well as digital, advertising and creative production. It provides expert insights, developed through social research and a deep understanding of political, media and digital landscapes in Australia overseas. Essential partners with Australian newspaper The Guardian to deliver one of Australia’s leading social and political polls, The Essential Report, on a fortnightly basis.

Edwards + Co has assisted the Essential Group with corporate aspects of its business since 2015. Some key matters we have worked on over the years include:

• Successful implementation of a complex, cross-border merger with the UMR group of companies in New Zealand, through a scrip-for-scrip share exchange, to unify complementary businesses across the Tasman into a single corporate group with a large and diverse base of shareholders;
• Ongoing corporate work with respect to the restructure of shareholding ownership of the group, and managing shareholder exit matters, through equity buy-backs and other Corporations Act regulated transactions;
• Ongoing advisory with respect to corporate governance matters, including cross-border shareholder and board meetings and documentation with respect to key company events, and employee and executive share ownership plans;
• Successful implementation of a series of cross-border transactions to demerge Essential from UMR in 2018, including ongoing post-completion transitional arrangements; and
• Ongoing corporate and commercial advisory matters with respect to corporate governance and regulation, as well as resolution of commercial disputes.