THE PLANNED sale of the Tuam Heraldnewspaper in Galway to the Alpha Newspaper Group, which is controlled by John Taylor, is not proceeding.
Instead, Alpha has taken a minority shareholding in the regional newspaper for an undisclosed sum, with the Burke family retaining a majority stake in the business. Staff were informed of the change in ownership structure in recent days.
A notice placed in today's edition of the newspaper states: "The Tuam Heraldannounced this week that it will remain in local control. The sale of the company to the Alpha Newspaper Group, reported in December 2008, will not now take place.
“The Alpha Group has taken a minor shareholding in the company, but the majority shares are in the hands of the managing director David Burke and Mrs Mary Burke, widow of the late finance director Iain Burke, whose untimely death occurred on January 15th of this year.”
In the note, Mr Burke thanked staff for their “positive attitude” throughout the period. He said the “primary objective” was to retain all jobs currently held, and he was confident “we would continue in business for many years to come”.
David and Iain Burke, who were cousins, had agreed to sell the business to Alpha last December for €6 million to €7 million.
When contacted, Mr Burke, who is also the paper’s editor, declined to comment on the reasons for the sale not proceeding.
Mr Taylor, also known as Lord Kilclooney, could not be reached for comment.
Latest accounts for the Tuam Herald, which has a weekly circulation of about 9,500, show it had accumulated profits of €1.1 million at the end of December 2007.
Its annual turnover is estimated at €1.8 million.
