Lebedev close to buying Indy titles after agreeing printing deal with Trinity

Alexander Lebedev is a stage closer to finalising a deal for the Indy titles after agreeing to honour the Independent printing contract with Trinity Mirror for five years.

Independent News & Media has guaranteed the additional five years of the contract, which would have cost £35 million to get out of, according to reports in The Sunday Times.

In a separate five-year deal, Lebedev has also agreed to supply articles to other INM newspapers in South Africa and Ireland.

The Evening Standard-owner is expected to pay £1 for the struggling Indy titles, which lose an estimated £10 million a year.  He has pledged to spend millions on improving them over the next five years.

Reports suggest the former KGB agent will look at cutting the paper’s £1 cover price in a bid to boost sales or potentially slash its cover price altogether, a move that has been a success for the Standard, which he bought from the Daily Mail & General Trust for £1 a year ago.

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

In the latest 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.

For full ABC circulation reports, see Mediatel.co.uk’s Press Database.