Competition minister Melanie Johnson has given the go-ahead for the sale of SMG titles The Herald, Sunday Herald and Evening Times, to American firm Gannett.

The £216m sale, which also includes 11 business to business and specialist consumer magazine titles, and an online advertising and content business, was agreed in December.

But it had to be referred to the Competition Commission as Gannett already owns regional newspaper publisher Newsquest, which has an average paid-for circulation of more than 500,000.

The Commission concluded unanimously that the transfer of the titles would not be expected to operate against the public interest as Gannett does not currently operate within Scotland.

The minister said: "The Commission found that, as Gannett does not currently operate within Scotland, the transfer will not alter the structure of the Scottish market.

"Nor was there evidence to suggest that the transfer would in any other way adversely affect competition between newspapers in Scotland.

"In addition, the Commission did not expect the transfer to adversely affect the current editorial freedom, editorial stance, content or quality of the SMG titles, or accurate presentation of news or freedom or expression."

The consent to the transfer of the titles will, as usual, be limited to one year. If the transfer is not completed within a year it will need to be re-examined.

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