Bidders Line Up For Trinity’s Belfast Telegraph

Regional newspaper group, Trinity, has now received interest from a number of parties over the sale of its Belfast Telegraph newspaper. Following a ruling by trade and industry secretary, Stephen Byers, Trinity is required to sell the Telegraph and three other Northern Ireland papers, before the company can complete its £2 billion merger with the Mirror Group (see DTI Approves Mirror Group Takeover Bids).

A spokesperson for Trinity confirmed that there has been significant interest in the Belfast Telegraph, although specific groups were not named. It is understood that potential bidders include Newsquest, Northcliffe Newspapers, Independent Newspapers, owner of the Independent, and Regional Independent Media, which itself bid for the Mirror Group earlier in the year (see Mirror Group Rejects £913m RIM Bid).

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has not yet issued Trinity with a deadline for the sale of its Northern Ireland papers and it is expected that Trinity will be given at least a few months to settle on an appropriate buyer. One such buyer may be the management team at the Belfast Telegraph, which has shown interest in taking control of the paper, which was described by a Trinity spokesperson as ‘the jewel in the group’s crown’.

The DTI is also yet to stipulate whether all four papers – the Belfast Telegraph, Sunday Life, Community Telegraph and Farm Trader – will have to be sold collectively or whether they could be sold off individually.

Trinity: 01244 687 000