THE OWNER of the Daily Mail was yesterday given the go-ahead for its £50m takeover of the i newspaper.

Daily Mail and General Trust (DGMT), which also owns Metro, agreed the deal in November last year with the i's current owner JPI Media.

The government said it was "minded" to intervene in the merger due to public interest concerns.

But culture secretary Oliver Dowden yesterday said he would not refer the merger to an in-depth Phase 2 investigation.

DMGT chairman Lord Rothermere said he was "delighted" that the takeover had been approved.

"Editorial independence is an article of faith at DMG Media and we are committed to maintaining both the independence and distinctive qualities of the i," he said.

The i newspaper has retail sales of approximately 170,000 newspapers each weekday and 190,000 copies each Saturday. Its website attracts roughly 300,000 daily unique users.

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