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Johnston Press in talks to buy newspaper 'i'

Published 11/02/2016, 10:39
Johnston Press in talks to buy newspaper 'i'
JPR
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(Reuters) - Britain's Johnston Press (L:JPR) is in late-stage talks on a deal to buy Independent Print's "i" newspaper, it said on Thursday, raising questions about the future of the latter's sister publication, The Independent.

The printed media sector has been struggling in the face a slide in advertising revenue as customers shift to digital platforms.

Johnston Press, publisher of The Scotsman newspaper, said the potential deal is likely to be priced at 24 million pounds ($34.8 million) and would allow it to tap into i's growing circulation revenue, new geographies and advertising base.

Shares in Johnston Press rose 1.3 percent in early trading.

Independent Print is owned by Russian oligarch Alexander Lebedev, who paid 1 pound ($1.45) to buy The Independent and Independent on Sunday titles from Irish company Independent News and Media in 2010.

Launched in October 2010 at a cover price of 20 pence by the publisher of "i" sold 274,000 daily copies on average in November, according to circulation auditors ABC, while The Independent sold 56,000.

Johnston last month said it would look at selling some assets to streamline its business and raise funds for its investment after posting a slide in full-year underlying revenue.

($1 = 0.6903 pounds)

(This version of the story fixes a typographical error in the headline.)

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