Trinity Mirror PLC’s (LON:TNI) acquisition of the Express and Star newspapers is being investigated by the UK’s competition watchdog on concerns about media plurality.
The deal was completed on March 1 but the Competition and Markets Authority then blocked the companies from further integrating their businesses until it looked at whether the takeover hurt competition.
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In response, the Trinity Mirror said in a statement on March 2 that it believed “there would be no reduction in media plurality as a result of the acquisition”.
On Wednesday, the CMA announced it had launched an initial investigation to assess whether the deal could reduce competition in the UK media sector and will decide by June 7.
It added that it has brought the acquisition to the attention of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.
Trinity Mirror, which also owns the Daily Mirror newspaper, announced in February that it had agreed to buy the Express and Star from vendor Northern & Shell Media Group Limited for £126.7mln.