Mecom-boss David Montgomery has denied a concrete offer for Edda Media has been put forward, and said the British company's board has no intention of selling the Norwegian newspaper group.

The former Mirror-boss turned European media mogul was visiting his newspapers in north-west Norway at the start of the week and Tuesday told Sunnmörsposten, that Edda Media is currently not for sale.

Two weeks ago, reports by Reuters, Guardian and FT that Mecom had received an offer for its Norwegian business had Norwegian media hacks scratching their heads and speculating wildly. Rumours that moves were afoot to bring Edda back on Norwegian hands had been circulating for quite some time, both in the newspaper columns and on the grapevine, but news of a concrete offer took the country's media industry by surprise. 

Speaking to Sunnmörsposten, Montgomery said Mecom had been approached by parties interested in acquiring its Norwegian assets. 'However, no concrete bid has been made, and this would have had to be reported to the London Stock Exchange before it could be confirmed,' he told the newspaper. He said the rumours of a possible Edda-sale came about after Mecom and the Edda management were looking into a flotation earlier this year, an option that is no longer being considered.

While in Norway, the Mecom-boss paid visits to Sunnmörsposten, Aandalsnes Avis and Romsdals Budstikke, all of which made a lot of Montgomery's comments about how some of the scenery he saw reminded him of his native Northern-Ireland, but was even more spectacular (check the links to the newspapers for pictures from the visit).