Trinity Mirror has agreed a £126.7m deal to buy a portfolio of titles from Richard Desmond’s Northern & Shell, including the Daily Express and the Daily Star.

The Daily Mirror publisher will also make a one-off cash payment of £41.2m to Northern & Shell’s pension schemes as part of the deal and takes a 50 per cent stake in the Irish Daily Star.

Northern & Shell chairman Desmond described it as a “transformational transaction” and “a logical and natural next step in the evolution and consolidation of the media sector”.