Three groups have been shortlisted by Johnston Press to make final bids for its Irish newspapers division.
The bidders in the final round will be John McStay, a former owner of the Leinster Leader group that was sold to Johnston in 2005 for €138.5m (£123m); Richard Findlay, a former Scottish Radio Holdings chief, who is backed by a private equity firm; and Joe Hayes, a former managing director of the Kilkenny People and two Tipperary titles before Johnston bought them.
The titles are not expected to achieve much more than €40m (£35.5m) for Johnston, just 16% of what the company paid to acquire them. (Via Irish TImes)
