INM extends Indy sale talks with Lebedev

Independent News & Media has extended talks with Alexander Lebedev over the sale of the Independent and Independent on Sunday.

Exclusive discussions between the publishing group and the Evening Standard-owner were due to expire today but have been extended until Friday 26 January.

INM said today that an extension had been given to “facilitate bringing these discussions to a successful conclusion”.

The ailing publishing company hopes to finalise a deal by March 24 at the latest, before its financial results are due, according to reports.

It is understood that INM shareholders are keen for the company to sell to Lebedev, who bought the London Evening Standard from the Daily Mail & General Trust for £1 just over a year ago.

The sale of the Indy titles forms part of INM’s restructuring plan, which has also seen the company sell a percentage of its stake in Jagran Prakashan, an Indian publishing group, for €22 million (£19 million), its 49% stake in German website Verivox for €18.3 million (£16.6 million), and offload its South African ad business INM Outdoor.

In last week’s ABC release, for January 2010, the Independent and Independent on Sunday both reported circulation declines, despite January showing signs of a recovery for most national newspapers.

The Independent saw its circulation dip by 0.6% period on period, taking its total to below 186,000 copies, while the Independent on Sunday was down by 1.0% period on period to below 154,000 copies.