(Reuters) - British media company Reach Plc (L:RCH) on Friday said it was no longer in active talks to buy some assets of The Yorkshire Post publisher JPI Media, and that it was confident of meeting its full-year estimates.
Reach, which publishes the Daily Mirror, had said in July that it was in early stages of discussions to buy certain assets of JPI.
JPI Media, formerly known as Johnston Press, was acquired by its bondholders last year after it filed for bankruptcy protection.
Newsquest, the publisher behind The Glasgow Herald and a subsidy of U.S. media company Gannett Co Inc (N:GCI), is now the front-runner to buy JPI assets, the Financial Times had reported https://www.ft.com/content/da4f739c-0c9b-11ea-b2d6-9bf4d1957a67 last week.
Reach on Friday posted a 4.4% drop in like-for-like revenue for five months ended Nov. 24, compared with a 6.6% decline last year, helped by a rise in digital revenue.
Shares of the company, which was formerly known as Trinity Mirror , were seen rising about 3%, according to premarket indicators.
The company said it will continue to review merger and acquisition opportunities.