Former Mirror Group chief David Montgomery plots takeover spree with new local news company National World
Newspaper executive David Montgomery has launched his takeover vehicle National World, which will be the beginning of a regional news acquisition spree.
Former Mirror Group chief David Montgomery moves forward with new local news company National World
Montgomery, the former chief executive of The Mirror Group, now rebranded as Reach, will take on his former company through National World and is said to be attempting to purchase JPI media, publisher of The i and The Scotsman as his first move.
The management team of the company will also include Vijay Vaghela, a non-executive director of Local World, the local news network formed by Montgomery while at Trinity Mirror. Other board members include Mark Hollinshead, Steve Barber and John Rowe who will serve as non-executive directors offering experience in publishing and digital technology.
The company, described as being “focussed on becoming a technology-driven news publishing business” listed on the London Stock Market yesterday with 54m ordinary shares valued at 0.01p each.
The operating model of the business will aim to use both digital and traditional publishing techniques and will use a shared services model across the business while driving revenue through aggregated audiences.
Partnerships and joint ventures are also potentially planned, the announcement of the listing revealed.
Montgomery, who will act as executive chairman, said:"Our objective is to create a modern platform for news publishing by implementing a new operating model, powered by the latest technology. National World will jettison legacy systems and archaic industrial practices to create efficient dissemination of news, monetising it by matching content to audience. With the relevant technology embedded in National World it is intended to deploy these capabilities across news publishing assets, whether acquired by the Company or via partnerships."
Admission to the London Stock Exchange is expected to take place on 19 September.
Earlier this year, Montgomery, a vocal critic of the BBC’s scale and public sector funding, called on the organisation to share resources with local independent media firms such as his own company, Local TV which serves communities across the UK.