Daily Mail bids for IN&M's London papers

The Daily Mail group has tabled a bid for the 27 London newspapers owned by Independent News &Media (IN&M).

The Daily Mail's regional arm, Northcliffe Newspapers, has submitted the bid believed to be worth about £60 million sterling (€80 million) for a wide range of titles circulating in the Greater London area.

IN&M is selling the papers as part of a debt-reduction drive. It previously attempted to sell them to Newsquest, a subsidiary of the giant US newspaper publisher Gannett, but this was blocked by competition authorities.

There may be some surprise in newspaper circles over the Daily Mail bid. Since entering the Irish newspaper market a few years ago via Ireland on Sunday, the Daily Mail & General Trust has been critical of Sir Anthony O'Reilly's Irish newspapers. The group has taken out large advertisements calling into question IN&M's circulation figures for example.

Ireland on Sunday is a bitter rival of IN&M's Sunday Independent and to a lesser extent the Sunday World. There has also been speculation for some time about Daily Mail & General Trust launching a daily newspaper to rival IN&M titles.

The original bid for the London newspapers by Newsquest was blocked by officials at the Department of Trade and Industry. They argued that the sale of 10 of the titles might be against the public interest.

IN&M said it would go ahead and sell titles not covered by the ruling to Newsquest. But this may not happen now with Northcliffe stepping in with a rival offer for all the titles.

Yesterday the Department of Trade and Industry invited comment from third parties - such as advertisers and other newspaper groups - before it gave approval to the new offer.

The Competition Commission, which provides advice to the Department of Trade and Industry, concluded last month the sale to Newsquest "may be expected to reduce competition and result in higher advertising rates", with Newsquest's share of circulation in the Greater London area likely to rise greatly.

The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, Ms Patricia Hewitt, is required to refer newspaper applications to the Competition Commission before giving her consent to any sale. However, this does not apply to newspapers with paid-for circulations below 50,000.

In coming to a decision the Secretary for State must have regard to all matters that appear to be relevant, for example competition, concentration of ownership, efficiency and employment.

Northcliffe Newspapers is one of the largest regional newspaper publishers in Britain.

Its 20 daily titles have a combined circulation of 1,080,000 copies.