The publisher of the Irish Mirror will be the new owner of the Irish Daily Star newspaper and websites after it was cleared by The Minister for Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht whom has given her approval for Reach to acquire the 50% of the Irish Daily Star it did not already own.
Reach already owned 50% of the publication in a joint venture with Independent News and Media (INM) as part of the publisher’s acquisition of Northern and Shell in 2018 and earlier this year agreed a deal to buy the remaining 50% from INM, subject to regulatory approval from both the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) and government, which has now been granted.
The acquisition, which is set to complete as early as Monday next week, cements Reach’s place one of the biggest publishers of national and regional news brands in Ireland with an existing portfolio that includes the NI and Irish editions of the Daily and Sunday Mirror newspapers, the Sunday People newspaper, RSVP magazine and five news sites that reached a record total online audience of 23.5 million users last month, according to the publisher.
When it was announced in July that Reach would purchase INM’s 50% stake to give it full ownership of the tabloid, Reach’s chief executive Jim Mullen said “it is a natural next step” for the publisher.
On the ministerial decision today he added: “We are pleased to have secured regulatory clearance and look forward to building on the significant potential of the Irish Daily Star and Buzz.ie.”
Marketplace Publisher for Ireland, Joanne McGreevy commented: “We are looking forward to welcoming the Irish Star team to the Reach family and are really excited about adding this heritage brand to our expanding portfolio. Even though we are a leading digital publisher, combining The Star with the Irish Daily Mirror now gives us huge scale in the Irish popular morning print market which will be really attractive to advertisers,” says Joanne McGreevy, Marketplace Publisher for Ireland.
Marc Vangeel, CEO of Independent News & Media, commented: “We welcome the successful conclusion of the regulatory process, and we are pleased that the parties can now move forward towards completion. We will work with Reach to ensure a smooth transition, and we are confident that the Irish Daily Star has a bright future ahead within the Reach portfolio.”
The Irish Daily Star Newspaper will continue to trade through Independent Star Ltd, as a subsidiary of Reach plc.
