More cold water has been poured over the rumours of a Mail-Express merger. City analysts cited by today's Daily Telegraph are extremely doubtful, echoing Dan Sabbagh's scepticism.
The analysts are baffled by the idea that the Mail's owner, Daily Mail & General Trust, chaired by Lord Rothermere, would contemplate acquiring Express Newspapers from its owner, Richard Desmond.
The Telegraph quotes Lorna Tilbian, of Numis Securities, as saying: "The last thing they are going to do is buy the Daily Express. They'll just steal its readers."
She thought Trinity Mirror a more obvious buyer, but it doesn't have the cash.
Paul Gooden, an analyst at RBS, also registered his disbelief: "I don't think there would be a lot of sense in DMGT doing it. The focus of the group is on the B2B side."
Sources: Daily Telegraph/Media Guardian
