Sunday Sport set for return

Newspaper expected to return to newsstands on 8 May but no reprieve for sister title the Daily Sport The Sunday Sport is expected to begin publishing again in early May, with the paper’s founder David Sullivan on the verge of buying it from administrators for less than £1m. A contract for the deal for the Sunday Sport – but not sister title the Daily Sport – is understood to have been issued although Sullivan, the West Ham co-owner, has not yet signed off on it. However, one source familiar with the deal said it is “highly likely” to go through, with Sullivan buying the Sunday Sport for less than £1m. The Sunday Sport is expected to return to newsstands on 8 May, just over a month after previous owner Sport Media Group ceased publication of the paper and its daily counterpart. SMG ceased trading and put the papers up for sale on Friday 1 April , after admitting that an “insufficient recovery” since poor sales during the poor weather at the end of 2010 had left it cash-strapped and “uncertain of support” from its bank. Following unsuccessful talks with Royal Bank of Scotland, the company appointed BDO as administrator for the business. One of BDO’s first moves was to make the papers’ 80 employees redundant . A BDO spokeswoman said: “Negotiations are ongoing. We are not in a position to announce a sale or confirm a sale.” Sullivan launched the Sunday Sport in 1986 and its daily sister title five years later. He sold his 50% stake in the business in December 2007, in a deal that valued the Sport papers at about £40m. But in 2009 Sullivan saved the business from going under by loaning it £1.68m in return for a 9.9% stake. • To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly “for publication”. • To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook . Newspapers Newspapers & magazines Media business David Sullivan Mark Sweney guardian.co.uk

Posted by on April 14, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.