Regional publisher Johnston Press has confirmed it is in advanced talks to buy cut-price British national daily newspaper i for around £24 million.

Johnston, which owns more than 200 titles including the Yorkshire Post and The Scotsman, said the deal would create the UK's fourth largest print publisher with more than 600,000 paid copies a day. The i newspaper is part of the group that publishes The Independent and Independent on Sunday, which is owned by Evgeny

Lebedev, who has other media assets including the Evening Standard and local TV station London Live.

Johnston News of the “late stage” discussions comes after it was revealed the title had been put up for sale at the end of last year.

A sale of the i raises questions over the future of The Independent and Independent on Sunday, as it has been key in turning around the loss-making newspaper group. The Guardian is reporting on Thursday that the group's owners are considering closing the print titles and moving to a web-only operation, though it says no final decision has been made. Any such move would lead to significant job losses.

The i was launched in October 2010 with a cover price of 20p, although it has since doubled to 40p. It was billed at the time as the UK's first quality daily newspaper to launch since 1986, when sister title The Independent hit the streets.

Its launch came less than a year after the Lebedev family, led by businessman Alexander and his publisher son Evgeny, bought The Independent from Independent News and Media for £1 in March 2010.

The i is said to have been a success for the Lebedevs, selling 275,000 copies a day. It made underlying earnings of £5.2 million in the year to the end of September, according to Johnston.

- (PA)