Fairfax Media's Life Media & Events division has purchased Australian Openair Cinemas, a business operating open air cinemas in six Australian states and territories.

Australian Openair Cinemas, with Ben & Jerry's as naming rights partner, was originally established at Sydney's Bondi Beach in 2003 and has since expanded to operate in Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra, Adelaide, Perth and this year for the first time at the Gold Coast.

Managing Director of Fairfax Life Media & Events, Andrew McEvoy, said: 'Fairfax is very pleased to have done this deal with Australian Openair Cinemas. Our plan is to build on the remarkable success the events have had to date, further improving the experience and finding new Australian and international sites to grow the events. We genuinely believe in the experience economy and Ben & Jerry's Openair Cinemas perfectly complements our other events in areas such as food, health and fitness, parenting, sports and the arts.'

Australian Openair Cinemas Founder and Managing Director, Alexander Khadra, said: 'I am very grateful to the many people who have helped us along the way, our great team, all our sponsors and council partners. It's been a fascinating few years building the events from humble beginnings to a national event series, creating a much loved summer experience for so many Australians. We could not have wished for a better partner than Fairfax to take Ben & Jerry's Openair Cinemas even further.'

Commercial terms of the transaction are confidential.

Fairfax's Life Media & Events division serves millions of customers across its strong portfolio of lifestyle-oriented media assets and products spanning travel, health, food, parenting and motoring; and events focused on running, swimming, food and wine, parenting, business and the arts.


distributed by