Last year, Current Account mused that Scottish Radio's £28 million (#35.55 million) takeover of the Kilkenny People group would not be the last big deal involving the Republic's regional newspapers.

And so it came to pass this week with the Crosbies takeover of the Nationalist group, the Carlow-based near-neighbours of the Kilkenny People.

The Crosbies wouldn't even give a hint of how much they paid. It might be a bit simplistic to extrapolate the Kilkenny People price tag to the Nationalist based on their respective circulations. But if Scottish Radio paid £28 million for three titles with a combined 43,000 circulation nine months ago, then it's unlikely that the Crosbies paid much less than £10 million for the three Nationalist titles with their combined circulation of 17,000.

The Crosbies swoop on the Nationalist has further consolidated the regional newspaper market into four big players, and it seems reasonable to assume more sales are likely. What's the Limerick Leader - with its four issues a week selling 100,000 copies - worth? Likewise, the Connacht Tribune with a 28,000 circulation, or the Munster Express with 18,500? With the Crosbies, Scottish Radio and Trinity Mirror apparently keen to build their regional newspaper assets to challenge Independent News & Media's previous dominance of the sector, now is a pretty good time to be a regional newspaper proprietor willing to sell out.