Stand by for "huge amount of merger activity" in the regional press - MoS told

Regional newspaper groups expect the Office of Fair Trading to open the way for mergers, in a report to be published next month, according to a Mail on Sunday report.
The MoS says the Local Media Alliance, which represents seven major regional newspaper publishers, including Northcliffe, Trinity Mirror, Guardian Media Group, Newsquest, Archant DC Thomson and Johnston Press, believe the OFT accepts their argument that existing rules should change.
In a 108-page report submitted to the OFT’s review of the Local Media Merger Regime, the Local Media Alliance stressed what they claim is the importance of allowing greater flexibility over newspaper mergers and acquisitions to enable the industry "to continue its transition into a successful multimedia sector delivering local news and information across print, online and broadcast platforms."
"We are confident that the merger regime will become more benign," an LMA source tells the MoS. "There is likely to be a huge amount of merger activity following the publication of the OFT report."