GMG looks overseas to open new portals

GMG chief executive Carolyn McCall said: "Our number one objective is to secure the future of The Guardian and Observer newspapers by diversifying the portfolio", adding that this will be achieved through "organic growth and acquisitions".

She revealed that a merger of Emap Communications with Incisive, the B2B publisher fully-owned by Apax since last year, is "a possible option". But she added that such a move would only go through following a full review of the two businesses by new chief executive David Gilbertson.

She said: "We have taken the view to wait and see. I can see why analysts would see a merger as the rational option. But the credit markets do not lend themselves to this at the moment."
However, McCall said that GMG is unlikely to make acquisitions of a similar size to the £1bn Emap Communications deal. Instead, the company plans smaller acquisitions in an effort to build its presence.

Last May it set up GMG Property Services Group to invest in pro-perty software companies such as thinkproperty.com.

Another area of growth, said McCall, is Guardianamerica.com, which launched last year, catering to a US audience. Guardian.co.uk remains the UK's most popular newspaper website, attracting just over 19.5 million unique users in February. However, just under half  were from outside of the UK.

While the group's immediate focus is to expand Guardianamerica.com, McCall said it is already examining the launch of online portals in other overseas markets. However, she would not be drawn on details, such as the planned territories.

Separately, the company plans to invest around £100m into a fund aimed at investments outside the media industry.

It is understood the group has around £350m left to play with, after generating £675m from the sale of half of its stake in Trader Media Group. The fund will likely mirror the approach of the Daily Mail's parent company, which, among others, invests in information firms that model risk for insurance clients.