TL;DR: After acquiring Johnston Press and renaming it JPIMedia, a consortium of hedge funds is considering selling major assets like the i newspaper and The Scotsman.
This strategic review comes following the acquisition's stabilizing actions, which included a debt write-off of over £130 million and an injection of £35 million in capital. This rapid shift towards potential asset sales has caused discontent among stakeholders such as Christen Ager-Hanssen, a former major shareholder, who was critical of the administration process and the impact on the company’s future direction.
Summary
In 2019, the hedge fund consortium that seized control of Johnston Press, now rebranded as JPIMedia, initiated a strategic review that might lead to the sale of significant assets such as the i newspaper and The Scotsman. This group, including financial heavyweights like Goldentree Asset Management, Benefit Street Partners, CarVal, and Fidelity, acquired the company following its entry into administration and a subsequent pre-pack insolvency process, which erased over £130m in debt. In an effort to stabilize the company’s finances, the consortium also injected £35m of new capital.
The exploration of potential asset sales is driven by the shifting media landscape, where traditional print struggles against online alternatives. Among the assets, the i newspaper stands out as a profitable venture within the national newspaper market, making it a highly attractive asset for sale. The company is currently in the process of selecting advisers to manage the potential auction of its parts or entirety.
This decision to potentially divest key assets comes shortly after the hedge funds took control, suggesting a rapid shift in strategic direction. This has caused significant discontent among former shareholders, including entrepreneur Christen Ager-Hanssen, who previously held a 25% stake in the listed Johnston Press. Ager-Hanssen and others