Low-priced quality tabloid the i has been bought by DMGT for £49.6m, a 4.5x multiple on historical operating profit. The sale provides a lifeline to JPI Media as Reach has withdrawn from negotiations for the local estate

The i signals growing confidence in consumer media at DMGT after a long period rebalancing the portfolio towards B2B, and new ownership serves as an opportunity to rethink and drive the i’s online service

Although the acquisition will be reviewed by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), we expect the deal to pass

Contents

DMGT’s portfolio shifts back to consumer

i, growth and the future of news media

• Options at JPI Media

Competition and Media Plurality

List of charts/tables

Figure 1: DMGT porfolio revenue shares in 2016 (left) and 2019 (right)

Figure 2: Average paid circulation per issue for selected national newspapers

Figure 3: Cover prices of selected national newspapers

Figure 4: Top 20 news sites by UK visitors (m, October 2019)

Figure 5: Ownership of national newspapers