29th Nov 2019 11:15
(Alliance News) - Daily Mail & General Trust PLC said Friday it has bought the i newspaper from JPI Media Ltd for GBP49.6 million in cash.
According to DMGT, the i sells 170,000 newspapers each weekday and over 190,000 copies of iweekend on Saturday. The website inews.co.uk sees about 300,000 daily unique users.
Chair Jonathan Harmsworth said: "We are delighted to welcome the 'i' to our stable of media brands. It is a highly respected publication with a loyal and engaged readership. We are committed to preserving its distinctive, high quality and politically independent editorial style.
"The acquisition of the 'i' is both strategically and financially compelling for DMGT and there is scope for potential synergies in the future, notably from dmg media's existing infrastructure and in advertising sales."
JPI Media is a multimedia company that took over the assets of Johnston Press following the sale of the company to its creditors. Its titles include newspaper the i, The Scotsman, the Yorkshire Post, the Falkirk Herald, and Belfast's The News Letter.
DMGT said it expects UK competition regulators to review the acquisition.
In 2018, the i newspaper generated GBP11 million in operating profit on GBP34 million revenue. In the financial year ended September 30, DMGT itself reported pretax profit of GBP691.9 million on GBP1.43 billion revenue.
Harmsworth added: "The business will benefit from DMGT's long-term approach and commitment to investing in editorial content. We also see good opportunities to develop inews.co.uk, a growing digital media asset. Financially, the 'i' will be a strong cash generator for the group as we continue to invest across the portfolio, both organically and through acquisitions."
Shares in DMGT were 0.1% lower in London on Friday at 824.52 pence each.
Earlier Friday, digital and magazine publisher Reach PLC - formerly known as Trinity Mirror PLC - confirmed it was no longer in discussions to buy local press assets such as the Yorkshire Post and The Scotsman from JPI Media.
By Paul McGowan; [email protected]
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