LONDON (Brand Republic) 鈥 Northern & Shell Media, owner of OK! Magazine and soft-porn titles such as Asian Babes, has snapped up Express Newspapers after a last-minute £125m bid, ending weeks of speculation about the future of the group.
N&S -- which boasts a 1m circulation from its top shelf titles, which account for 10% of the group鈥檚 profits and are produced through the Portland Investments company -- first approached United on October 24 about acquiring the group.
United said it was interested in N&S鈥檚 bid if a deal could be executed 鈥渜uickly and quietly鈥, according to a N&S spokesman.
The Barclay brothers had recently withdrawn from the bidding, following claims that United News & Media had refused to provide sufficient financial information about the company.
Richard Desmond, N&S chairman, said that he plans to invest in the newspapers and intends to restore flagship title, the Daily Express, to 鈥渨hat it once was鈥.
Paul Ashford, editorial director of OK!, will extend his responsibilities to cover the new stable of titles. He said that the editorial policy of the Express would be left to its editor to decide.
On the subject of whether the Daily Express鈥檚 current editor Rosie Boycott would retain her position on the paper, Ashford said, 鈥淲e haven鈥檛 spoken to Rosie yet. We have an open mind, but we like continuity.鈥
Over recent years, Lord Hollick, United鈥檚 chief executive, has been accused of not investing in the Express titles, which comprise the Daily Express, Sunday Express and Daily Star.
N&S, which obtained finance for the deal from Commerzbank, knocked the Hinduja brothers out of the lead bidder position. At one point, it had been widely thought that the Hinduja brothers would win the battle for the papers.
The Daily Mail & General Trust withdrew its bid following a dispute over a non-refundable £60m deposit United asked it to pay in order to see the Express Group鈥檚 financial information.
Other bidders involved in the battle included Daily Telegraph owner, Hollinger, and a consortium led by David Montgomery -鈥 former Mirror Group chief executive and the Barclay brothers, owners of Sunday Business and The Scotsman.
OK! is expected to join the Express titles at Ludgate House.