The Journal tipped for possible takeover

The publisher of the Business Post is also understood to have assessed a possible deal.

Journal Media is Ireland’s biggest ‘digital native’ news website. It was established in 2010 by Brian and Eamonn Fallon, the brothers behind the separate Daft.ie online property portal which revolutionised the Irish property market when it was launched in 1997. The Fallons merged Daft and their Adverts.ie business with the rival DoneDeal.ie in 2015 and that business is not for sale.

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The Irish Times, which reported the possible deal, said a sale would value The Journal media brands in low single million euros.

Mediahuis Ireland and the Business Post declined to comment.

The main Journal.ie new website has a large readership but unlike most traditional media has few paying readers, relying on a mix of advertising, donations and partnerships. The sports focused the42.ie sister brand is a subscription business featuring podcasts as well as written news and analysis.

Mediahuis Ireland declined to comment on the possible takeover. Antwerp headquartered European publishing group Mediahuis bought the former Independent News & Media (INM) in 2019, including the Irish Independent, Sunday Independent, Sunday World and Belfast Telegraph as well as regional titles including The Kerryman and Wexford People. The Irish business is headed by CEO Peter Vandermeersch.

The wider Mediahuis Group is active in markets including Belgium, Netherlands, Germany and Luxembourg.

Any Irish media merger is subject to enhanced regulatory and competition authority approvals, including review by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) and a potentially lengthy scrutiny process by the media regulator, Coimisiún na Meán, and sign off by the Media Minister, Catherine Martin.