A written ministerial statement released by The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) yesterday (26 April) said the culture secretary had written to both companies to inform them that she is “minded to” issue an Intervention Notice.
“This relates to concerns I have that there may be public interest considerations – as set out in section 58 of Enterprise Act 2002 – that are relevant to the recent acquisition of Archant Media by Newsquest Media and that these concerns warrant further investigation,” she stated.
The letter from DCMS to both companies stated: “In East Anglia (where the majority of Archant’s titles are based) DCMS estimates that the merger will give Newsquest a majority share of the local newspaper market.
“The merger will see the two largest local newspaper groups in East Anglia combining. While news will still be available for consumers from other local and national providers (i.e. radio, tv and online), as highlighted in the letter shared by Newsquest with the CMA, the majority of local newspapers will come under single ownership.
“Such concentration of ownership has the potential to impact the plurality of views available in local newspapers in East Anglia. This risk may be exacerbated by any potential restructuring within Archant’s titles, a possibility that has been subject to press speculation.”
The ministerial statement added: “It is important to note that I have not taken a final decision on intervention at this stage. In line with the statutory guidance on media mergers, the ‘minded to’ letter invites further representations in writing from the parties and gives them until 29 April to respond.
“I will then make my final decision, which needs to be made on a quasi-judicial basis, on whether to issue an Intervention Notice.
“If I decide to issue an Intervention Notice, the next stage would be for Ofcom to assess and report to me on the public interest concerns and for the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to assess and report to me on whether a relevant merger situation has been created and any impact this may have on competition.
“Following these reports, I will decide whether to refer the matter for a more detailed investigation by the CMA under section 45 of the Enterprise Act 2002.”
Newsquest completed its acquisition of Archant from private investment firm Rcapital – who bought it in September 2020 – last month.
At the time, Newsquest CEO Henry Faure Walker said: “We’re really looking forward to working with the Archant team who have done a phenomenal job rebuilding the business after it went into administration 18 months ago.
“The Archant strategy focused on building out digital marketing solutions and digital subscriptions is closely aligned with our own; and the additional scale that our combination brings will greatly assist Archant’s local news and Life brands in building a stronger future.”
Archant owns a portfolio of local news brands, predominantly in East Anglia, and also publishes a portfolio of regional County Life magazines. Its news brands include the Eastern Daily Press (EDP), the East Anglia Daily Times, Norwich Evening News, and Ipswich Star.
The business was forced to close its main printing site in Norwich in 2019 due to falling advertising revenues and print readerships.
