Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Monday, Sep 29, 2025

Daily Mail owner buys i newspaper for £50m

Daily Mail owner buys i newspaper for £50m

DMGT buys the newspaper from JPI Media, which took over Johnston Press last year.

The owner of the Daily Mail, DMGT, has bought the i newspaper and website for £49.6m from JPI Media.

DMGT chairman Lord Rothermere said the paper was "a highly respected publication with a loyal and engaged readership".

"We are committed to preserving its distinctive, high-quality and politically independent editorial style."

The Competition and Markets Authority will have to approve the deal.

In 2018, the i reported an operating profit of £11m from £34m in sales.

The deal means that the paper will have its fourth owner in as many years.

The sale was attacked by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who said in a tweet that two billionaires now owned half the UK's top 10 daily newspapers.


'Time-poor' readers

The i was launched in 2010 as a sister paper to the Independent. It sells for 65p on weekdays and £1.20 on Saturdays.

When it first hit the newsstands, executives at the company said it was aimed at "time-poor newspaper readers", especially commuters, who lacked the time to read a quality newspaper on a regular basis.

At its launch, it shared the same editorial staff as its sister paper and was seen as a way of extending the Independent's brand to a new market.

But in 2016, the Independent closed its print edition and the i was sold for £24m to Johnston Press.

Despite this, links to the paper's former parent remained, with the i continuing to provide a print home for some of the Independent's now otherwise digital-only content.


Changing hands

In November 2018, the i changed hands again after Johnston Press was bought out of administration by JPI Media.

DMGT had been mulling the purchase for at least a year, but was beaten by JPI Media's deal with administrators.

Johnston Press was one of the largest local and regional newspaper organisations in the UK with a history dating back more than 250 years, but it had debts of £220m.

The deal leaves JPI with The Scotsman and Yorkshire Post among its biggest titles. In total, it owns about 200 newspaper brands.

Who owns the UK's national newspapers?
If the DMGT deal is approved, the UK's national newspapers will be owned by just six companies.

DMGT already owns the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday and Metro.

Reach, formerly known as Trinity Mirror, owns the Daily Mirror, Sunday People, Daily Express, Daily Star and associated Sunday titles.

News UK, which is part of Rupert Murdoch's media empire, News Corp, owns the Times, Sunday Times and Sun.

The Telegraph Media Group, owned by billionaire brothers Sir Fredrick and Sir David Barclay, owns the Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph.

The Guardian Media Group owns the Guardian and Observer.

And the Financial Times is owned by Japanese media firm Nikkei, after being sold by UK publishing group Pearson in 2015.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
×