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Trinity Mirror buys Guardian Media Group (GMG) Regional Media business

By amarndra bhushan for CEOWORLD Magazine Updated:February 9, 2010

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Trinity Mirror Plc (TNI.LN), a multimedia business with leading print, online and TV brands, announced Tuesday that it has exchanged contracts to acquire GMG Regional Media, from Guardian Media Group Plc for £44.8 million.

The sale includes both GMG Regional Media’s subsidiaries, MEN Media which publishes the Manchester Evening News and 21 weekly titles in the North-West, and Surrey and Berkshire Media, which publishes ten titles in the South-East including the Reading Post.

But Channel M, the troubled TV station for Greater Manchester, and the company’s two local newspapers in Woking are excluded from the sale. It was also announced that Mark Dodson, chief executive of GMG Regional Media, had decided to leave the business.

Sly Bailey, Trinity Mirror chief executive, commented: “GMG Regional Media is a perfect strategic fit for our group. This acquisition, which includes the Manchester Evening News with its proud and rich journalistic heritage, together with the weekly titles and associated websites extends our reach across print and online and is a further step towards our strategic goal of creating a multi-media business of real scale.”

Carolyn McCall, GMG’s chief executive, said: “GMG is mandated to secure the future of The Guardian in perpetuity, and we have a strong portfolio which has to be in the right shape to achieve that goal. The group board and the Scott Trust have made the decision to sell in light of these strategic objectives. GMG Regional Media is a good business and a publisher of important newspapers.”

Highlights:

-GMG Regional Media comprises two operating businesses: MEN Media and Surrey & Berkshire Media.
This acquisition reinforces Trinity Mirror’s commitment to regional media and complements the Group’s existing portfolio and marketplaces.
The deal, will make Trinity the dominant media player in the North-West of England.
GMG Regional Media, which publishes 32 newspapers and associated websites, is formed of two operating businesses: MEN Media and S&B Media.
Trinity Mirror will not be acquiring Channel M, the TV station for Greater Manchester and the two local newspapers in Woking.
The businesses made an operating profit of GBPnil in the 12 months to December 2009 and have gross assets of GBP8.7 million.
MEN Media publishes 22 titles in the North West of England, including the flagship Manchester Evening News and Metro.
S&B Media publishes 10 titles in the South of England, including the Surrey Advertiser and Reading Post.

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