Three Dublin newspaper executives are to become millionaires following the decision of a British regional newspaper group, Trinity International Holdings plc, to acquire the Sunday Business Post for £5.55 million.
The deal means the editor, Mr Damien Kiberd; the deputy editor, Ms Aileen O'Toole; and the chief executive, Ms Barbara Nugent, who all own 20.8 per cent of the paper, will each receive over £1.1 million. The fourth shareholder is Verlag Norman Rentrop, a private German publisher.
Trinity owns 123 newspapers in the UK and the US, including the Belfast Telegraph, which prints the Sunday Business Post. The acquisition will be through a wholly-owned subsidiary, called Tymara, and subject to approval by the Minister for Enterprise and Employment, Ms Harney.
The Sunday Business Post was founded in 1989 and its circulation has risen since then from 25,000 to about 42,000. The paper made a profit of £343,000 last year. According to Ms Nugent, the present management will remain in place and the Sunday Business Post will operate as an autonomous unit within Trinity Holdings.
The chief executive of Trinity, Mr Philip Graf, said the company was delighted to be able to acquire such a strong and respected title based in Dublin. "Trinity will operate the title on an autonomous basis, protecting its editorial independence."
Ms Nugent said she and her fellow shareholders were pleased with the deal. "Since 1993, the newspaper's financial position has been transformed through serving its readership in a focused manner and by progressively building both its advertising and circulation."
Trinity is quoted on the London Stock Exchange and is the leading regional newspaper publisher in the UK. As well as publishing the Belfast Telegraph, it also owns the Western Mail and South Wales Echo; the Daily Post and Liverpool Echo in Liverpool; the Huddersfield Daily Examiner; the Evening Chronicle and the Journal in Newcastle; and the North Evening Gazette in Teeside. It also has newspapers in Ohio and Pittsburgh.
Last year it reported a turnover of £332.5 million and pre-tax profits of £56.2 million.