Penningtons Manches Cooper advises Newsquest Media Group on its acquisition of Archant Community Media Ltd

Posted: 04/04/2022

The corporate team at Penningtons Manches Cooper has acted for Newsquest Media Group, one of the UK’s regional media groups, on its recent acquisition of Archant Community Media Ltd from Rcapital, a private investment firm.

Led by corporate partner Chris Owen with support from associates Sebastian Annable and Emily MacDonald, the team advised Newsquest on the purchase of Archant, whose news brands include the Eastern Daily Press, the East Anglia Daily Times, Norwich Evening News, and Ipswich Star, as well as owning a portfolio of successful regional County Life magazines.

The wider team from Penningtons Manches Cooper included support from corporate and restructuring partner Matthew Martin, banking partner John Chater, tax partner Stephen Goldstraw, pensions consultant Maria Riccio, commercial property associate Sarah Measures, commercial senior associate Susie Hilton Knox and employment associate Hannah Grayson.

Henry Faure Walker, Newsquest's CEO commented: “The Archant strategy focused on building out digital marketing solutions and digital subscriptions is closely aligned with our own; and the additional scale that our combination brings will greatly assist Archant’s local news and Life brands in building a stronger future.”

He continued: “We valued the expertise offered by Chris and the rest of the team at Penningtons Manches Cooper. Having worked with them on many previous deals, we knew we could rely on their specialist advice and commercial awareness in order to achieve the best outcome for the business.”

Lead partner Chris Owen commented: “It has been a pleasure to work with Newsquest once again on this purchase. It’s an acquisition that gives both Newsquest and Archant the opportunity to build on their position as leaders in regional media publishing in the UK.”

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