Newspaper publisher Trinity Mirror has agreed to acquire GMG Regional Media from Guardian Media Group for up to £44.8 million. 

Newspaper publisher Trinity Mirror has agreed to acquire GMG Regional Media from Guardian Media Group for up to £44.8 million.

GMG Regional Media publishes 32 newspapers and associated websites including Manchester Evening News and the Metro. As part of the deal, Trinity Mirror will not be acquiring Channel M, the TV station for Greater Manchester.

Sly Bailey, chief executive of Trinity Mirror, says that the Manchester Evening News has a ‘proud and rich journalistic heritage’. She adds that the deal is a step towards the company’s goal of ‘creating a multi-media business of real scale’.

In the half year to June 2009, Trinity reported a decrease in turnover of 17 per cent to £383 million, while pre-tax profits fell by 56 per cent to £31.3 million. The deal is expected to close in March this year.