Trinity Mirror may abandon sales of the Racing Post and its Midlands regional titles after the buyers for both submitted reduced offers at a time when the advertising market is improving, reports The Times.. The publisher is expected to decide by the end of next week whether it will go ahead with its disposals. Progress has been hampered because its chairman, Sir Ian Gibson, is also the senior independent director of the beleaguered Northern Rock.
The Racing Post had been expected to attract a little over £200m, but the offer price is thought to have dropped to around £175m. The preferred bidder is a group of Irish investors, fronted by Allan Byrne, a former editor.
Meanwhile, Exponent and Barclays Private Equity are backing a management buyout of the Birmingham Post and Birmingham Mail.
Trinity Mirror believes that, while the price for newspapers has dipped amid wider pressure on business valuations, the ad market is showing signs of reviving. The company has previously announced that it would not be able to fulfil its original hopes for its disposal programme.
