Australia: ACCC to assess newspaper tie-up

The long-rumoured merger of The West Australian and Sunday Times newspapers appears to be proceeding, with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission confirming today it plans to review the proposal.

The ABC also understands that Sunday Times staff were briefed on the merger today, and an announcement could be made as early as tomorrow.

An ACCC spokeswoman said it expected to begin the review soon, after it had received relevant information from the parties involved, Seven West Media and News Corp.

She said the proposal would be listed on the Commission’s mergers register.

The confirmation comes after staff were told last month by a senior News Corp figure about the likelihood of the merger coming next financial year.

There have long been rumours about Seven West’s intentions to buy the Sunday tabloid, which also runs the PerthNow website.

If the ACCC approves the deal, Seven West would have a monopoly on major newspapers in the state, where it owns The West Australian.

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