Court approves fifth owner for Scotsman in 20 years – Daily Business

The Scotsman newspaper titles will get their fifth owner in less than 20 years this weekend following formal approval today of the acquisition of National World, the vehicle created by former Mirror executive David Montgomery.

A court order sanctioning a scheme of arrangement, the preferred takeover process, will see Neo Media Publishing, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Irish group Media Concierge take full control of the group in which it already owns 27.8%.

Apart from The Scotsman, National World owns the Falkirk Herald, Yorkshire Post, and local titles in towns and cities across England, including, Sheffield and Portsmouth.

Media Concierge and National World announced on 18 December that they had agreed terms of a deal which valued the remaining stock at £65.1 million. This was a 53.3% premium to National World’s closing price on the last day of business before the offer period began in November.

The scheme will become effective next Tuesday 27 May and National World shares will be cancelled the following day.

Chelsea FC owner Todd Boehly’s investment vehicle Eldridge Media Holdings had hoped to tie-up a deal with Montgomery to gatecrash the deal and use it to bid for the Telegraph. But last week he confirmed that it would not pursue its interest.

After today’s court hearing, Malcolm Denmark, Media Concierge’s chief executive, who had been in an advertising dispute with Montgomery, said: “The formal approval of the transaction marks the final step in the process, and we are pleased to be moving forward.

“National World is home to some of the UK’s most respected and long established regional media, and we believe there is significant potential for growth and renewal with the right focus and investment.

“As a long-term investor in the business, and with extensive experience managing local and regional news brands in Ireland, we understand both the challenges and the value of high-quality, community-based journalism.”

In a message to staff he said: “The most important thing we can do right now is to give you the space and confidence to carry on — business as usual.”

Montgomery created National World in 2021 after buying the titles from JPI Media, a consortia of investors, for £10.1m. JPI had acquired the business from the administrators of Johnston Press which had paid the Barclay Brothers £160m for The Scotsman titles alone at the end of 2005.