The purchase of the Sunday Business Postby Thomas Crosbie Holdings was cleared by the Tánaiste today.
Approving the acquisition under the Mergers and Takeovers (Control) Act, Ms Mary Harney said it would improve competition in the national media market.
Thomas Crosbie Holdings paid Trinity Mirror €10 million for the Sunday paper.
It was the sixth acquisition of a newspaper title by Thomas Crosbie Holdings in an aggressive expansion programme over the past two years. The group now has 12 newspaper titles in the Republic and Northern Ireland.
Trinity Mirror bought the Sunday Business Postin August 1997 for around €7 million. A number of its executives at the time, including editor Mr Damien Kiberd and Ms Aileen O'Toole, become millionaires as a result of the sale.
Founded in 1989, the Sunday Business Post'scirculation has risen since to more than 55,000.
