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Ofcom reports to Government on the acquisition by Trinity Mirror of Northern & Shell’s publishing assets
Ofcom has submitted a public interest report to the Government on the acquisition of certain publishing assets of Northern & Shell, including the Daily Express and Daily Star newspapers, by Reach plc. Reach plc is the new company name for the newspaper group Trinity Mirror.
On 10 April 2018, Trinity Mirror submitted a merger notice to the Competition and Markets Authority in respect of its acquisition on 1 March 2018. On 1 May 2018, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport issued a Public Interest Intervention Notice which asked Ofcom to look at the effect of the transaction on the following public interest considerations:
- the need for, to the extent that it is reasonable and practicable, a sufficient plurality of views in newspapers in each market for newspapers in the United Kingdom or a part of the United Kingdom; and
- the need for free expression of opinion in newspapers.
Our report provides advice that may be relevant to the Secretary of State’s subsequent decision on whether to refer the transaction to the CMA for further investigation of the public interest grounds.
Original article link: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/about-ofcom/latest/media/media-releases/2018/ofcom-reports-government-acquisition-trinity-mirror-northern-and-shell
