Newsquest has entered exclusive talks over a possible merger with fellow regional publishing group Archant, according to reports.

Sky News has claimed Newquest has become the frontrunner in the race for Archant, securing a period during which exclusive negotiations will take place in a bid to strike a deal.

Archant went up for sale last month, less than 18 months after it was bought by London-based investment firm Rcapital Partners.

Newsquest was touted at the time as a potential bidder, along with JPIMedia owner National World and Reach plc. However, all three rival publishers have so far remained tight-lipped on their intentions.

According to Sky News, it is “unclear” when Rcapital and Newsquest might reach a formal agreement on a deal.

Prior to Rcapital’s 2020 takeover, Newsquest was among the potential bidders linked to a deal for the Eastern Daily Press and East Anglian Daily Times owner.

There is currently a small amount of geographical overlap between the respective patches of Archant and Newsquest, with both publishers operating local titles in Essex, Hertfordshire, London and Somerset.

For instance both companies have weekly newspapers circulating in St Albans and Harpenden – Archant’s Herts Advertiser and Newsquest’s St Albans and Harpenden Review.

The biggest areas of overlap are in North Essex, where Archant’s East Anglian Daily Times is in competition with a number of Newsquest titles, and North and East London where both companies have well-established weeklies.

Although both companies own titles in Somerset, their print circulation areas there do not technically overlap, with Archant’s North Somerset Times based mainly around Nailsea and Portishead while Newsquest’s Somerset County Gazette mainly covers Taunton.

With daily titles such as the Northern Echo, Glasgow-based daily The Herald, the South Wales Argus in Newport and the Southern Daily Echo in Southampton, Newsquest currently has a powerful presence in Scotland, the North, Wales and the South West.

However it does not have a presence in Norfolk and Suffolk where Archant’s four daily newspaper titles are based.

Norwich-based Archant has maintained a “business as usual” approach during the sales process so far, vowing to press ahead with online subscription plans for some of its content.

Archant and Newsquest declined to comment when approached by HTFP.

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Newsquest and Archant – areas where current newspaper patches overlap

St Albans and Harpenden, Hertfordshire

Archant: Herts Advertiser
Newsquest: St Albans & Harpenden Review

North/East London

Archant: Barking & Dagenham Post, Brentwood Recorder, Docklands & East London Advertiser, Hackney Gazette, Ilford Recorder, Newham Recorder, Romford Recorder, Wanstead & Woodford Recorder

Newsquest: East London and West Essex Guardian Series, Epping Forest Guardian.

North Essex and Suffolk

Archant: Dunmow Broadcast, East Anglian Daily Times, Saffron Walden Reporter, West Suffolk Mercury.

Newsquest: Braintree & Witham Times, Clacton Gazette, Colchester Gazette, Essex County Standard, Essex Echo, Halstead Gazette, Harwich and Manningtree Standard, Maldon and Burnham Standard.