Independent publisher NWN Media has acquired Northcliffe’s two Admag weekly newspaper titles in Shrewsbury and Hereford.
Family-owned NWN Media, which publishes the daily The Leader and 11 weekly titles in Wales, Shropshire and Cheshire, will take control of the papers this week.
David Faulkner, managing director of NWN Media, said: ‘The Admags fit perfectly in the geography of titles we already publish and bring additional strong brands into our newspaper group.
‘As well as providing excellent opportunities for advertisers in their own right, with our ownership the titles will also offer great new selling platforms when paired with some of our current titles such as the County Times, Border Counties Advertizer or the Whitchurch Herald.
‘As a company we are very keen to expand into new markets wherever possible and see this acquisition as an outstanding growth opportunity.
‘The titles are an excellent strategic fit with the rest of our portfolio, extending the boundaries of our current group.
‘We are pleased to be in a position to continue to expand in this way, even in the current tough economic climate.”
The new titles will be printed at NWN’s production facility in Deeside; however, the company said it was committed to retaining local offices in both the communities served by the newspapers.
This is the second recent acquisition for NWN Media in recent months. In October 2009, the company saved the Whitchurch Herald from closure by buying the weekly from Trinity Mirror.
Faulkner added: ‘We will examine all suitable opportunities to grow NWN Media’s portfolio in the future wherever possible.
‘We continue to see a positive future for local newspapers within multi-media organisations such as our own with roots still firmly in the local communities we serve.”
Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog
