THG is in advanced talks to buy London-based business newspaper City AM as it borders on the brink of collapse.
The Cult Beauty and Look Fantastic owner is understood to be negotiating the purchase of the news outlet with accountancy firm BDO, which is on standby to handle its insolvency, Sky News reported.
The deal could be announced as soon as Wednesday afternoon, sources told the outlet, but warned it could be delayed.
Sky News reported THG was expecting to pay “a small seven-figure sum” for City AM’s assets including its brand and website.
The group has also agreed to meet July’s payroll obligations for the 40 members of staff, it said.
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The acquisition would provide THG with several commercial opportunities for its Ingenuity clients – which include Coco-Cola, Kraft Heinz and Nestle – providing them greater access to financially literate audience from City AM’s readership.
One source said the deal would strengthen Ingenuity’s relationships with major media buying agencies such as GroupM and content syndication relationships with companies including Google and Bloomberg.
THG is understood to be planning an overhaul of City AM’s technology interface and looking to launch an app for the paper, which goes to print four days a week.
If completed, the acquisition will support the growth of THG experiences, which operates LookFantastic Beauty awards and Ingenuity’s Future of Commerce event.
It is understood that City AM will operate with editorial independence.
THGs bid comes as a surprise after chief executive and founder Matthew Moulding called out the media earlier this year in a lengthy social media rant.
In a video shared on LinkedIn, Moulding featured negative newspaper headlines about his company alongside stats about THG’s growth and expansion arguing that it had “sadly become standard practice” for the media to “regularly build negative coverage”.
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