Ashurst advised Numis Securities as sponsor on Trinity Mirror’s acquisition of newspaper publishing group Northern & Shell for £127 million, one of the most significant UK newspaper mergers in decades.

Trinity Mirror, Britain’s largest news publisher, owns a large regional newspaper portfolio including the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Sunday People national newspapers, the Sunday Mail and Daily Record in Scotland, and more than 100 regional titles including the Manchester Evening News and Birmingham Post. Northern & Shell, owned by Richard Desmond, publishes the Daily Express, Sunday Express, Daily Star and OK! Magazine.

The deal is subject to approval by Trinity Mirror shareholders, who will be asked to give their backing to the acquisition at a general meeting later this month.

The Ashurst team is being led by equity capital markets (corporate) partner Nicholas Holmes, assisted by counsel Caroline Chambers.