Jacquie Bowser, Brand Republic, 19 September 2007, 11:10am

Trinity Mirror not abandoning Racing Post sale

LONDON - Trinity Mirror is pushing ahead with its plans to sell the Racing Post and its Birmingham titles by the end of this month, despite a report in The Times suggesting it might abandon the sale because of low bids.

The report in The Times said the newspaper publisher would decide by the end of next week whether it would go ahead with its disposals, after the buyers for both had submitted reduced offers at a time when the advertising market was improving.

However, a spokesman for Trinity Mirror said the sale should be completed by the end of next week.

He said: "As we've said all along the process will be completed by the end of the third quarter."

Last month, Trinity Mirror warned the disposal of its southern, Midlands and racing titles would raise less money that it had originally hoped. Trinity said it had reduced the value of the titles it was looking to sell by £150m, and expected to make £450m from the disposals, which includes newspapers such as The Birmingham Post and The Birmingham Mail.

It has already raised £92.2m from the sale of titles in London and the South East, including the South London Press and is expected to gain around £175m from the sale of the Racing Post, which was originally expected to sell for around £200m.

The Times also reported that Emap, which has put its main business up for sale, is considering demerging into two parts if the credit crisis continues through November.

Emap is taking indicative bids for its consumer magazines, professional publishing and information and radio divisions by October 1, but the company is believed to have concerns as to whether a sale at the right price is possible in the current market, according to the report.