The British Competition Commission will today issue its report on Independent News & Media's planned £300 million sterling (€475.86 million) takeover of the Belfast Telegraph. However, the contents of the report are to remain a secret until a final decision on the bid is taken by British Secretary for Trade and Industry Mr Stephen Byers.
Informed sources believe Mr Byers is likely to take his time over the decision. Given the political sensitivity of the bid and the strong objections voiced by unionist politicians, sources believe that Mr Byers may not make up his mind until the end of the Northern marching season in August.
Unionist politicians were careful to base their objections to the Independent bid on competition, rather than political, grounds. Unionist objections were voiced most loudly by UUP deputy leader Mr John Taylor, himself a newspaper proprietor. Mr Taylor claimed that the sale would create "an almost complete monopoly of daily, evening and Sunday newspapers on an all-Ireland basis".
Unionists also opposed the deal on the basis that the Belfast Telegraph's moderate unionist editorial line would be compromised by Independent.
For its part, Independent attempted to reassure unionist opinion by appointing a host of unionist and nationalist luminaries to its local board. These include UUP chairman Lord Rogan; Lady Moyra Quigley, the wife of the Ulster Bank chairman; and Ms Berna McIvor, election agent to SDLP leader Mr John Hume. The Competition Commission gave some indication of its thinking when it asked Independent to consider "possible remedies". These include selling either its own Sunday World title in the North or the Belfast Telegraph's Sunday Life title. The commission said, however, that such remedies would be considered on a "purely hypothetical basis".
But industry sources believe the commission will recommend that the takeover be conditional on Independent at least divesting one of the two Sunday titles, while also giving assurances on maintaining production of titles in the North and putting some constraint on cross-Border advertising packages involving Independent titles.
Mr Byers, for his part, has a record of going against commission advice when it comes to Northern Ireland newspapers.
