For announcement of referral see DTI Press Notice P/2002/786

Reference of SMG Plc / Gannett UK Ltd to the Competition Commission

Terms of Reference

Whereas the Secretary of State received on 3 December 2002 an application for her consent under section 58 of the Fair Trading Act 1973 ("the Act") to the transfer to Gannett U.K. Limited, a newspaper proprietor, of the newspapers specified in the Schedule hereto, of the assets necessary for the continuation of those newspapers as separate newspapers (including the right to use the name of the newspapers) and of plant and premises used in their publication ("the proposed transfers");

Whereas the average circulation per day of publication (calculated in accordance with section 57(3) of the Act) of the newspapers specified in the Schedule hereto together with that of the newspapers of which Gannett U.K. Limited is already a newspaper proprietor amounts to 500,000 or more copies;

Now, therefore, the Secretary of State, in exercise of her powers under section 59 of the Act, hereby refers the matter of the proposed transfers to the Competition Commission ("the Commission") for investigation and report on whether any of the transfers in question may be expected to operate against the public interest.

The Commission shall report on this reference within a period ending on 10 March 2003.

Schedule: Newspapers And Newspaper Assets Involved In The Proposed Transfer

The following newspapers:

The Herald
Sunday Herald
Evening Times

10 December 2002