Johnston Buys Lincolnshire Titles
Johnston Press has announced the acquisition of four paid-for newspapers from Mortons Media Ltd. The titles are all based in the Lincolnshire area and include the Horncastle News series, the Louth Leader series, the Skegness News and the Market Rasen Mail. The price paid by Johnston for the titles has not been disclosed, although the net assets are worth £350,000.
The deal will be subject to approval from the secretary of state for trade and industry, following which they will be incorporated into the East Midlands division of Johnston Press.
Johnston also had ambitions to purchase the titles of Regional Independent Media (RIM). However, rival bidders Newsquest (owned by US group Gannett) and Guardian Media Group have since formed an alliance with Johnston, under which Gannett will purchase RIM and then sell off titles to Johnston and GMG. For its part, RIM not cooperating with this plan, preferring an outright bidding war which would drive up its price.
