Trinity Mirror Buys Southnews For £284m
Trinity Mirror has today announced the acquisition of Southnews for £284.6m. The combination of the two regional newspaper groups will increase Trinity’s presence in the South East of England, a lucrative area for advertisers.
Under the deal Southnews shareholders will each receive £12.00 per share in cash, a premium of 57% on yesterdayÂ’s closing price. Southnews shareholders will also get a 4.85p interim dividend. Trinity is anticipating that to make cost savings of about £4 million in the first year.
Southnews publishes 84 paid-for and free titles in London and the Home Counties and is the tenth largest regional publisher in the UK, according to the latest Newspaper Society figures. The group today reported pre-tax profits of £7.8m for the six-monthly period to the end of September, compared to £6.5m for the same period last year.
Reaction
Southnews shares rocketed following the deal, up from 762½p to £11.80.
UBS Warburg: Buy
SG Securities: Buy
