£140m magazine merger set to go ahead pending resolution of publication overlap

The merger of TI Media with media company Future is set to go ahead if both firms can resolve an overlap of publications.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has ruled that the sale does not raise competition concerns, provided that three closely competing publications are sold.

Future is set to take over the LOndon-based specialist digital and print magazine publisher in a deal worth £140m.

After completing its initial Phase 1 investigation, the CMA found that the 2 businesses compete closely in photography and football magazines and technology websites.

Future owns titles such as FourFourTwo and Digital Camera, as well as technology websites such as Techradar.com and T3.com. TI Media owns titles such as WorldSoccer and Amateur Photographer and also owns the technology website Trustedreviews.com.

Colin Raftery, CMA senior director of mergers, commented: “Online content is having a major impact on the publishing industry, but specialist magazines still sell millions of copies each year and are highly valued by their readers because of the breadth and quality of their content.

“If Future were to hold all of these titles, there’s a real risk that these readers of football and photography magazines could end up paying more for lower quality products because of the lack of choice in the market.”