Daily Mirror owner Reach in swoop for regional player JPI

THE Daily Mirror and Express publisher Reach has submitted an offer to buy newspaper empire JPI media, which was put up for sale last year.

The company, formerly known as Trinity Mirror, is reportedly interested in acquiring most of JPI in an attempt to create a UK newspaper powerhouse.

The value of the indicative offer has not yet been confirmed and might not lead to a formal bid at this early stage.

It is understood that others also threw their hat in the ring for parts of JPI’S assets last week, according to Sky News, including Mediahuis, which recently agreed a takeover of Ireland’s Independent News & Media, and regional publishers such as Archant and Newsquest.

Last week a spokesman for JPI, which employs about 2,000 people across the UK, said: “We believe that our industry is undergoing substantial change and we are not immune from the changing trends in news consumption and rise of digital news alongside the decline in print advertising and circulation. Consolidation within the regional media industry is necessary, which is why we are actively exploring a number of options open to us.”

JPI, which owns The Scotsman, Yorkshire Post and i, as well as hundreds of local titles, changed its name from Johnston Press following its collapse in 2018 when its debt became insurmountable.

Its pre-packaged sale by administrators included a £35m cash injection and a 60pc cut to its debt pile. It also offloaded liability for a pension deficit of £109m as the Johnston Press defined benefit scheme entered assessment to join the Pension Protection Fund.

The consortium of debt investors that took control of JPI Media, led by New York hedge fund Goldentree Asset Management, as well as Carval, Fidelity and Benefit Street, set a deadline of July 15 for preliminary bids.

The move follows Reach’s recent purchases of the Express and Star national papers and the celebrity magazine OK! from former newspaper tycoon Richard Desmond, which helped boost operating profit from £127.7m to £145.6m last year.

Simon Fox, Reach’s chief executive, said in the firm’s most recent annual report that it would “continue to consider merger and acquisition opportunities that would accelerate our strategy where the financial case meets our requirements”.

Shares in Reach have risen by around 12pc in the last year and closed more than 9pc higher yesterday at 81p.

Reach declined to comment.