In a significant development, Sakal, the leading Marathi broadsheet in Pune, has acquired Maharashtra Herald, the oldest English newspaper in the city.

The move comes as part of Sakal's strategy to diversify into other languages, notably English, which it has been looking at for a while.

The acquisition is set to give a new lease of life to the Herald, which has been stagnating at around 10,000 copies in terms of circulation.

For Sakal, the Herald's acquisition is the second after Gomantak, the Marathi paper in Goa, which it bought over some time ago. With seven centres in Maharashtra including Pune, Mumbai, Kolhapur, Nasik, Aurangabad, Solapur and Nagpur, Sakal is a close competitor to Lokmat, as far as the rest of Maharashtra region goes, that is, the area minus Mumbai, where Indian Express' Loksatta, is a clear leader.