Trinity Mirror in talks to snap up assets from Express Newspapers

The owner of the Daily Mirror has been rumoured to have begun talks with Richard Desmond, the owner of Express Newspapers about buying the Daily Express and has been given access to his newspaper group’s confidential accounts.#

On Tuesday Trinity Mirror said: “The board of Trinity Mirror notes the recent media speculation and confirms that it is at an early stage of evaluating certain Northern & Shell assets. There is no certainty any agreement will be reached in respect of the range of outcomes currently under consideration.”

Discussions between the two groups were at the information sharing stage, according to a source cited by The Times, however another source claimed the negotiations were advanced and that Desmond could bank as much as £100m if the sale goes ahead.

Desmond bought the Daily Express and Daily Star for £125m in 2000.

It is understood that the price and the £85m pension deficit remain potential sticking points as Trinity Mirror already has a pension deficit of £301m. Trinity Mirror and Express Newspapers declined to comment.

According to The Times, it is not known if the Daily Star would be part of any deal with Trinity Mirror, which also owns the Sunday Mirror and the People as well as the Daily Record and Sunday Mail in Scotland. The negotiations are also not thought to include Desmond’s entertainment magazines like OK! Last year, Desmond sold Channel 5 for £465m to US group Viacom.

Express Newspapers, including the Express and Star titles, made pre-tax profit of £30.4m in 2013, about half from interest from other companies owned by Desmond. Revenues fell more than 8% during the year. Trinity Mirror, which is in the process of a civil trial for alleged phone-hacking offences, reported that net debt fell to £19m from £78m in the course of 2014. Operating profits fell slightly to £105m.