The News Letter and Morton Newspaper Group owner National World has agreed a £65.1 million takeover by its largest shareholder, Media Concierge.
National World, whose other titles include the Scotsman and Yorkshire Post, has given its backing to an all-cash offer worth 23p a share.
Media Concierge, which already owns a 28% stake in National World, runs a raft of local newspapers in Ireland as well as direct mail and advertising operations.
The recommended deal comes after National World rejected a previous potential offer from Media Concierge, worth £56.2 million, or 21p per share, which was put forward last month.
Media Concierge has given assurances not to make “material” job losses across editorial and production teams, which account for around two-thirds of employees at National World, or to close any local news brands.
But the firm warned there could be “material job reductions in areas of overlap” across the two companies as it looks to make savings following the deal.
It said: “Once National World ceases to be a listed company, a limited number of public company-related functions may become unnecessary and therefore be reduced in scope.
“However, Media Concierge has not yet developed any firm intentions in this regard.”
Media Concierge added: “No proposals have been developed as to how any such reduction will be implemented, but Media Concierge would approach any such plans in an open and transparent manner.”
It also plans to shift National World’s headquarters from Leeds to London, but retain the office in Leeds and not shut any locations across the UK.
“Media Concierge intends to invest in the company’s editorial output and preserve the nature of local journalism, and as a result does not intend to close down local newsbrand locations,” it said.
The potential buyer is among the original backers of National World, after it was set up as a media investment vehicle by former Mirror Group chief executive David Montgomery in 2020.
Later that year, National World snapped up regional newspaper publisher JPI Media for £10.2 million, in a move which saw it take control of The Yorkshire Post, The Scotsman and dozens of other titles including the News Letter.
It has since been linked to other major acquisition deals and was among bidders to buy the Telegraph Media Group earlier this year.
In August, National World revealed that group revenues grew 17% to £48.8 million for the first half of 2024, as it also increased its profits for the period.
Media Concierge said it “believes that National World’s performance will be enhanced as a private company under new ownership as part of an enlarged Media Concierge Group”.
The National World board said it would unanimously recommend the Media Concierge deal.
The board said while the deal price “may not fully recognise the potential shareholder value which may be generated in the longer term”, it believes the offer is “fair and reasonable”.
In a bizarre twist to the acquisition, National World revealed to shareholders following the initial approach in November that it had launched an investigation into Media Concierge, alleging that entities linked to the business were potentially “inappropriately withholding revenues due to National World totalling £4.4 million”.
Earlier this month, National World said it has agreed to a “temporary halt” in any legal proceedings as part of the process.
