Johnston Press has stunned the Scottish media by announcing this morning that it has bought Scotsman Publications for £160m.
In a statement Johnston chief executive Tim Bowdler said that he was “particularly pleased” to have reached an agreement with Scotsman Publications owners the Barclay Brothers.
The deal marks the latest acquisition for Johnston, who earlier in the year purchased the Score Press stable of newspaper titles from Scottish Radio Holdings as well as two Irish newspapers groups. The company has more recently been linked with speculation that it would buy rival regional newspaper company Northcliffe.
The acquisition will see Johnston take control of Scotsman Publications titles The Scotsman, Scotland On Sunday, the Edinburgh Evening News and the Edinburgh Herald & Post series of free weekly newspapers.