James HesterTrinity Mirror has entered into talks to acquire the assets of rival Northern & Shell, the publisher of the Daily Express newspaper.
In a statement this morning, Trinity Mirror, which itself publishes the Daily Mirror newspaper, said it had begun discussions with a view to acquiring all the publishing assets of Northern & Shell.
The deal, which could be worth around £130m, would see Trinity Mirror acquire the Daily Express, Sunday Express and Daily Star newspapers, along with the magazines OK!, New! and Star.
Negotiations
Trinity Mirror revealed it had entered into talks about buying all the publishing assets outright after having ceased discussions on taking “a minority stake in a new company comprising the publishing assets of Northern & Shell.”
These earlier negotiations, which Trinity Mirror confirmed in January, were understood to have centred on the possibility of merging the two publishers´ back office and sales operations.
Exit
Northern & Shell owner Richard Desmond is reported to favour an exit from the publishing business so he can focus on the property sector.
Desmond has previously invested in estate agent Tepilo and letting agent OpenRent, both online businesses.
Struggling
Shares in Trinity Mirror were trading around 0.8% higher this morning. However, the stock has lost around 20% since early May.
Along with print publishers in general, Trinity Mirror has been struggling with falling print revenues as advertisers switch their focus to the internet. Trinity reported a 21% fall in sales for the first half of 2017.