Irish newspaper tycoon Tony O'Reilly, who is also chairman of HJ Heinz, is taking control of The Independent and Independent on Sunday titles from the Mirror Group.

Independent Holdings, a subsidiary of Mr O'Reilly's Dublin-based Independent Newspapers, has made an agreed cash offer for the 54% of Newspaper Publishing that it does not already own.

The offer values the whole of Newspaper Publishing at about £6.4m.

Independent Newspapers Chief Executive Liam Healy said: "We are delighted that agreement has been reached to each party's benefit.

"We have the highest regard for the Mirror and its management team, notably for their operational efficiency that has enabled Newspaper Publishing's titles to withstand the fierce competitive pressures prevalent in the broadsheet market.

"We are particularly pleased that these efficiencies will continue to be available and look forward to long-term warm relationship between our respective companies."

The move follows last week's announcement by the Mirror Group and Independent Newspapers that they were in talks about their respective holdings in Newspaper Publishing.

Under the terms of the deal, the Mirror Group will receive a total of £29m, including £3m for the value of its shares in Newspaper Publishing and £26m through the repayment of loans and guarantees.

Mirror Group Chief Executive David Montgomery said: "This deal is in the best interests of all three parties.

"It stabilises the shareholding structure in NP for the longer term, it converts our investment in NP into a significant and ongoing contributor to our bottom line."

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