Newsquest (Gannett UK) has agreed the terms of a recommended cash offer for the share capital of Newscom plc, writes David Duffy.

The offer of 1800p for each Newscom share values the share capital of Newscom at about 443m.

Newsquest, owner of the Oxford Mail, has received irrevocable undertakings to accept the offer from all of the directors of Newscom and from some institutions. The deal is not completed, but there are expectations of a fairly speedy close. The acquisition of Newscom will increase Newsquest/Gannett's strategic focus in the UK regional publishing sector and will enhance the opportunities for growth and development in both the core newspaper businesses and the fast-developing on-line business.

Newscom, with headquarters in Southampton, is the UK's eighth largest regional newspaper publisher, with 99 titles comprising four daily, 49 paid-for weekly and 46 free weekly titles.

In addition, the company publishes three weekly advertising-only titles and 13 free monthly titles and produces approximately 2.7m copies per week. The company splits into three publishing regions regions covering the South, South West and West of England, together with a large area of South and West Wales.

Newscom also has a successful printing company, Southernprint, as well as an interest in magazine publishing. It has print centres at Southampton, Weymouth and Newport. They also have a magazine publishing division, Southern Magazines, which publishes three financial titles. In the year to June 26, 1999, Newscom recorded an operating profit of 24.1m on a turnover of 139.1m.

Newsquest is one of the largest regional publishers in the UK and has 187 titles that are distributed into eight million homes. They will be involved in various initiatives that Newsquest has taken on the Internet.

Jim Brown, executive chairman of Newsquest, said: "Newscom is a fine company with a great history. We are very pleased to have it join our newspapers. We feel that a combination of its existing strength added to that of Newsquest and Gannett will bring exciting new opportunities to our newspapers and Internet sites.

"Our readers and advertisers will be the beneficiaries."