Archant Merger Cleared By Competition Watchdog
Regional newspaper publisher Archant has had its £62 million acquisition of 27 weekly titles in the London area, including the Islington Gazette and the Kensington Times, cleared by the Competition Commission.
The deal was given the go-ahead after the Competition Commission concluded that it would not lead to a substantial lessening of competition in the market for advertising in the affected areas.
Commenting on the Competition Commission’s ruling, John Fry, Archant’s chief executive stated: “We are pleased that the CC listened to advertisers who felt that this acquisition was a positive move and recognised that London is a rapidly changing market with a high degree of competition from a range of printed and internet media. We are now free to address these competitive issues.”
Archant acquired the titles, some paid for and others free, covering areas of London, Essex and Kent in two stages both before and after the implementation of the Communications Act in December 2003. the deal was referred to the Competition Commission amid worries that such a large acquisition could have implications for regional advertisers.
However, chairman of the inquiry into the acquisition and deputy chairman of the Competition Commission, Peter Freeman, stated: “We have looked carefully at the areas affected and concluded that this merger does not give rise to significant competition concerns.”
He added: “Even in those areas where Archant’s market share would be at its largest, we found there was insufficient evidence to establish that Archant would have enough market power to raise prices profitably by an amount that would cause concern, either across the board or on a targeted basis.”
The Commission was quick to state that its ruling was the result of analysis of specific London markets and would not necessarily apply to to local newspaper mergers in other parts of the country.
Archant : 01603 772803 www.archant.co.uk
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