LONDON (Brand Republic) – The UK Competition Commission has contacted the three companies bidding for UK regional newspaper group Regional Independent Media with “issue letters” informing them of the areas it is investigating in the public interest.
The three bidders are the Guardian Media Group, Gannett UK and Johnston Press. Issue letters, as well as highlighting matters that are to be investigated, ensure that nothing is left out.
Under government media-ownership legislation, the government is obliged to refer the proposed acquisition of any newspaper company with a paid-for circulation of more than 500,000 to the Commission.
The Commission will consider matters relating to concentration of media ownership and its effect on readers and advertisers. It will also look at the regions in which the interested parties’ businesses overlap with RIM’s; the effect the merged company will have on employment; its financial position; and whether it would lead to the closure or launch of new titles.
RIM is one of few remaining independent regional newspaper publishers in the UK. Based in Leeds, it publishes more than 100 titles including the Yorkshire Post, the Sheffield Star and the Lancashire Evening Post.