Trinity Mirror Agrees to Buy U.K. Tabloid Rival
- 6 years ago
Trinity Mirror Agrees to Buy U.K. Tabloid Rival
Trinity Mirror, which publishes The Daily Mirror, said on Friday
that it had agreed to acquire the print assets of the Northern & Shell Media Group, which publishes The Daily Express, in a deal that would bring together news outlets on opposite ends of the political spectrum and shake up Britain’s fiercely competitive newspaper market.
Simon Fox, the Trinity Mirror chief executive, said in a statement
that the deal would benefit readers and shareholders, adding that Northern & Shell’s titles would bring his company “a large and loyal readership, a growing digital presence and a stable revenue mix.”
Publishers are looking to control costs as newspapers
and magazines have struggled with falling circulation and declining print advertising, and newspapers in Britain have also had to contend with a phone-hacking scandal that was especially damaging to the tabloids.
The deal came together six months after Trinity Mirror said it was in negotiations to potentially buy Northern & Shell’s print assets
and after Trinity Mirror had previously flirted with buying the company’s newspaper assets.
Under the terms of the deal, Trinity Mirror would initially pay £47.7 million in cash
and issue £20 million in shares, and then pay an additional £59 million between 2020 and 2023.
Trinity Mirror initially expressed an interest in Northern & Shell’s newspapers in 2015,
but after failing to reach a deal, it acquired the newspaper publisher Local World Holdings in November of that year for £187.4 million, including debt.
Trinity Mirror, which publishes The Daily Mirror, said on Friday
that it had agreed to acquire the print assets of the Northern & Shell Media Group, which publishes The Daily Express, in a deal that would bring together news outlets on opposite ends of the political spectrum and shake up Britain’s fiercely competitive newspaper market.
Simon Fox, the Trinity Mirror chief executive, said in a statement
that the deal would benefit readers and shareholders, adding that Northern & Shell’s titles would bring his company “a large and loyal readership, a growing digital presence and a stable revenue mix.”
Publishers are looking to control costs as newspapers
and magazines have struggled with falling circulation and declining print advertising, and newspapers in Britain have also had to contend with a phone-hacking scandal that was especially damaging to the tabloids.
The deal came together six months after Trinity Mirror said it was in negotiations to potentially buy Northern & Shell’s print assets
and after Trinity Mirror had previously flirted with buying the company’s newspaper assets.
Under the terms of the deal, Trinity Mirror would initially pay £47.7 million in cash
and issue £20 million in shares, and then pay an additional £59 million between 2020 and 2023.
Trinity Mirror initially expressed an interest in Northern & Shell’s newspapers in 2015,
but after failing to reach a deal, it acquired the newspaper publisher Local World Holdings in November of that year for £187.4 million, including debt.