STATE MONOPOLIES watchdog the Competition Authority is to step up its investigation of a proposed deal involving four daily newspaper publishers.

The Irish Times Ltd, Independent Newspaper (Ireland), and DMG Ireland are planning to take joint control of Fortunegreen Ltd to develop a single daily freesheet for the Dublin area, Metro Herald.

The move will abolish the two existing free titles in the region, Metroand Herald AM, and replace them with the new publication, which will be owned by the three groups involved.

Competition law requires the authority to investigate all proposed media mergers, irrespective of size, and it began a phase one inquiry last month. Yesterday, the authority announced that it intends carrying out a phase two investigation.

Phase two inquiries take up to three months and are more detailed than initial investigations, which take one month.

Its investigations are designed to establish whether or not a merger or other transaction could limit competition in a given market.

Depending on its findings, it can either stop a transaction altogether, allow it, or allow it with conditions designed to protect normal commercial competition.

The authority said yesterday that it has until November 26th to complete this investigation. Any interested party can make an oral or written submission to the authority on the proposal, and has until 5pm on September 17th to do so.

Most media mergers are subject to a phase two investigation.

The Irish Times Ltd publishes the The Irish Times, Independent Newspapers the Irish Independent, Evening Heraldand Herald AM, while DMG publishes the Irish Daily Mail.