Shareholders at Scotsman and Yorkshire Post parent company National World have voted to approve a takeover bid by Irish marketing business and local publisher Media Concierge.
The deal, offering 23p per share and valuing National World at £65.1m, received approval from shareholders representing 99.91% of the total share capital.
Of the 26 shareholders who voted, 25 voted in favour and three against — reflecting that some shareholders cast some of their votes for and some against.
The acquisition must still be sanctioned at a Scheme Sanction Hearing scheduled on 6 March before it takes effect. This would mean shares in National World cease to trade the following day.
Media Concierge began the takeover bid at the end of October and formally announced the attempt to the market the following month. The company was one of National World’s original backers and so already owns 27.8% of the publisher.
The marketing company, which publishes local Irish papers including the Donegal Democrat and Limerick Leader, originally offered 21p per share for the outstanding share capital. National World initially responded by publicly accusing Media Concierge of financial “irregularities”, which the bidder rejected as “baseless”.
National World’s board subsequently said it was “minded to” accept the bid. The two businesses agreed the current deal on 18 December and it is being financed partly out of Media Concierge’s cash reserves and partly using a £40m loan from HSBC and Barclays.
Media Concierge has pledged “to invest in the company’s editorial output” and said it would not “make material job reductions in editorial or production areas” or close any local brands.
Media analyst Jim Chisholm wrote for Press Gazette this week that Malcolm Denmark, the founder and owner of Media Concierge, built his business “pioneer[ing] the concept of a disparate regional press coming together in terms of their national sales representation…
“Denmark has always aggressively defended the interests of his company externally, but internally he is a popular leader who has encouraged a happy and loyal workforce.”
[Read more: Why David Montgomery is heading for exit at National World]
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