Trinity joins Newscom race

By THIS IS MONEY
Updated:

 

Newspaper group Trinity Mirror today joined the race to buy regional publishing company News Communications & Media. Trinity Mirror said it had told the board of Newscom of its interest and had applied to Trade and Industry Secretary Stephen Byers for permission to buy the company.

Two other media groups, Gannett and Johnston Press have already registered an interest in buying Newscom and are seeking approval from the Department of Trade and Industry. US group Gannett made its approach through Newsquest, the regional newspaper publisher it bought up earlier this year.

Newscom has 118 titles, mainly in the South of England. Its portfolio includes four daily papers - the South Wales Argus, the Southern Daily Echo, the Dorset Echo, and the Daily Echo in Bournemouth. Trinity Mirror is the UK's largest regional newspaper publisher with 155 regional titles. It also publishes the Mirror, Sunday Mirror, The People and Scotland's Daily Record.

Gannett's acquisition of Newsquest gave it 63 paid-for newspapers and 120 free papers across the UK. It already owns 74 US newspaper including the national title USA Today. Edinburgh-based Johnston Press owns 183 titles across the UK including 24 papers bought earlier this year when it took over the Portsmouth & Sunderland Newspapers business.

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