Australian broadcaster Nine Entertainment is to take control of online auto site CarAdvice.com and plans to move further into content-based publishing.

Nine says it has finalised an offer to acquire a majority stake in the business in a deal which provides a path to full ownership.

CarAdvice chief executive Andrew Beecher says the deal would help extend its audience and take Nine into into "one of the strongest online verticals in Australian automotive publishing".

In a report in the Australian Financial Review, Nine's chief digital and marketing officer

Alex Parsons says the group is also keen to increase the finance-related content on its websites.

Beecher says the "passion and determination" to provide independent and trusted insights into new cars had helped it grow to a leading position. "Today's announcement is the launch pad for our next stage of growth as we look to extend our audience through Nine's multi-platform properties across television and digital."

CarAdvice founder and publisher says the site "stood true to its commitment and core values", producing the most engaging and consumer-focused automotive content in Australia.

"I am immensely proud of the team past and present that has helped to get us here today and very much look forward to our future with Nine - a future that will only see us grow our audience and expand our opportunities for multiplatform innovation."

CarAdvice will continue to from its Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth offices, with no changes to the executive team. Four new board seats are being added for Nine-nominated directors.

• Figures published this week by NewsMediaWorks link car-buying decisions to the influence of news media, quoting emma statistics that 4.2 million consumers read newspaper automotive sections every month. "They are 48 per cent more likely to be planning to purchase a new car in the next year than the average consumer, and 63 per cent more than non-readers," it says. More than a quarter of of prospective car buyers (27 per cent) cite newspapers as the single most useful source for automotive information and advice - second only to organic search.