DMGT Sells Aberdeen Journals

Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) has announced the sale of Aberdeen Journals Limited to Scottish publisher, D.C Thomson, for £105 million.

Following the deal D.C Thomson will pay £27 million into DMGT’s pension scheme, with the payment giving Aberdeen Journals an enterprise value of £132 million.

Aberdeen Journals reported operating profit of £8.1 million in the last financial year, with turnover of £38.2 million.

The sale follows DMGT announcing last month that, after completing a strategic review, it would not be selling Northcliffe Newspapers believing it offered valuable long-term franchises to its shareholders (see DMGT Holds On To Northcliffe).

DMGT believes Northcliffe has valuable long-term franchises, which will continue to play a vital role in their local communities as well as delivering greater value to shareholders than a sale in the current trading conditions.

The newspaper publisher announced plans to sell Northcliffe last November, with the decision to go ahead made after a strategic review of the business revealed the need for restructuring in order to compete with competitors such as Trinity Mirror and Johnston Press (see Northcliffe Sale Marks ‘Turning Point’ For DMGT).

The Daily Mail & General Trust: 020 7938 6747 www.dmgt.co.uk