Decision Nº M/08/007 from Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, 2008-03-25
Jurisdiction | Ireland |
Parties | Irish Times Limited,Relevance |
Date | 25 March 2008 |
Decision Number | M/08/007 |
Status | Cleared (Phase 1) |
Court | Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (Ireland) |
Decision Date | 25 March 2008 |
Merger Notification M/08/007 – Irish Times/Relevance
DETERMINATION OF MERGER NOTIFICATION M/08/007 –
IRISH TIMES/RELEVANCE
Proposed acquisition by The Irish Times Limited of sole control of
Relevance Publishing Limited
Dated 25/03/08
Introduction
1. On 5 March 2008 the Competition Authority (“the Authority”), in
was notified, on a mandatory basis, of a proposed acquisition by The I rish
Times Limited (“ITL”) of sole control of Relevance Publishi ng Limited
trading as the Gazette Group Newspapers (“RP L”).
2. The Competition Authority approved ITL’s proposed acquisition of joint
control of RPL on 22 March 2007.
1
3. The Authority forwarded a copy of the notification to the Minister and
notified the undertakings involved that it considers the acquisition to be a
media merger, in accordance with section 23 (1) of the Act.
The Undertakings Involved
The Acquirer
4. ITL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Irish Times Trust Limited (“the
Trust”) and is not controlled by any other entity. The Trust was set up in
1974 as a company limited by guarantee to purchase ITL and to ensure
that The I rish Times would be publish ed as an independent newspaper
with specific editorial objectives.
5. ITL’s main activities in the State consist of:
• Publishing: ITL publishes The I rish Times newspaper, a daily
paid-for national newspaper publication, and (through a joint
venture with Associated Newspapers and Metro International)
Metro, a free sheet in the Greater Dublin area. Metro is published
Monday to Friday (except public holidays). Additionally, ITL,
through its subsidiary D’Olier Inv estments Limited and in a joint
venture with Gloss Publications Limited, p ublishes a monthly
magazine, The Gloss
2
;
• Contract printing: ITL prints (a) its own title, The Irish Times, and
(b) several third party titles such as the Irish Daily Mail, the
Galway Advertiser, the Irish Farmer’s Journal and Metro. ITL has
1
See Determination M/07/010, Proposed Acquisition of Joint Control over Relevance Publishing
Limited by Irish Times Limited.
2
See Determination M/06/061, D’Olier/Gloss.
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