Auto Amazon Links: No products found. Blocked by captcha.
The Daily Mail’s publishing company, Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT), has agreed to acquire the Daily and Sunday Telegraph in a deal valued at £500 million. DMGT will enter exclusive discussions with RedBird IMI, a joint venture between the United Arab Emirates and the American private equity firm RedBird Capital Partners. This development follows the collapse of RedBird Capital’s direct bid to gain control of the Telegraph last week.
Approval of the purchase is now dependent on the Culture Secretary, Lisa Nandy, who will assess the transaction in accordance with public interest considerations and regulations addressing foreign state influence and media mergers. A spokesperson emphasized that any new ownership would be carefully reviewed to ensure compliance with these standards. Despite this pending approval, both DMGT and RedBird IMI anticipate the agreement will be completed swiftly.
Lord Rothermere, chairman of DMGT, expressed his long-standing admiration for the Daily Telegraph and highlighted the acquisition’s potential to bring stability and reassurance to its workforce. He praised the Telegraph as “Britain’s largest and best quality broadsheet newspaper” and noted its significant role in shaping national conversation over many years. Further, he affirmed the commitment to supporting editor Chris Evans, stating, “We intend to give him the resources to invest in the newsroom.” Lord Rothermere also suggested ambitions for the newspaper to grow as an international brand under DMGT’s ownership, comparable to the Daily Mail’s status.
The acquisition would expand DMGT’s portfolio, which already includes media outlets such as the i Paper, Metro, New Scientist, and the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday titles. The group confirmed that the Telegraph would retain editorial independence from these other publications. DMGT maintains that its proposal is compliant with UK regulations, as the deal does not involve foreign state investment or capital. A representative from RedBird IMI noted that the two parties had moved quickly to finalize the agreement, which will soon be submitted for government approval.
This move comes after RedBird Capital withdrew from an earlier attempt to buy the Telegraph, a deal previously blocked due to political concerns over majority funding from Abu Dhabi’s IMI group—controlled by the Abu Dhabi royal family. Changes in the law now limit foreign sovereign wealth funds to holding no more than a 15% stake in newspapers or periodicals, and RedBird’s more recent bid adhered to this rule. Although the government had planned to conduct a regulatory review of this newer proposal, sources close to RedBird indicated that negative coverage from within the Telegraph newsroom influenced their decision to abandon the bid.
Gerry Cardinale, founder of RedBird, had envisioned using the acquisition to expand the Telegraph’s influence and subscriber base, especially in the United States, where he saw market opportunities. It’s notable that RedBird’s investments include the Italian football club AC Milan. The Telegraph has remained under uncertain ownership for over two years since the RedBird IMI consortium paid off debts owed by the newspaper’s former owners, the Barclay family, setting the stage for a potential transfer of control
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
Auto Amazon Links: No products found. Blocked by captcha.