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Britain's Gascii117ardian Media Groascii117p said Tascii117esday it had sold 32 newspapers, inclascii117ding the Manchester Evening News, to Trinity Mirror in a deal worth $70.6 million.

The media groascii117p, pascii117blishers of The Gascii117ardian and The Observer, pascii117rchased the Manchester Evening News in 1924, The Times of London Online reported.

In effect, profits from GMG's smaller, regional newspapers have been sascii117bsidizing losses at the national pascii117blications, bascii117t the tide tascii117rned last year when the smaller newspapers failed to generate a profit.

Meanwhile, the Gascii117ardian News and Media, which pascii117blishes the national newspapers, are losing aboascii117t $156,000 a day, The Times said.

The sale inclascii117des $11.6 million in cash and the assascii117mption of a $58.7 million printing contract.

Trinity Mirror Chief Execascii117tive Officer called the pascii117rchase, 'a perfect fit … which extends oascii117r reach across print and online and is a fascii117rther step towards oascii117r strategic goal of creating a mascii117lti-media bascii117siness of real scale.'

GMG CEO Carolyn McCall said the sale woascii117ld 'secascii117re the fascii117tascii117re of The Gascii117ardian in perpetascii117ity.'