Wigan MP and culture secretary Lisa Nandy is to consider an investigation into the £500m takeover of the Telegraph and associated titles by Daily Mail owner DMGT after she received a formal request from the for-sale newspaper titan’s’s Abu Dhabi-funded current owner.
RedBird IMI was forced to put the titles up for sale last spring after the government banned foreign states from owning UK newspapers, and has now informed Nandy that it wants to transfer its right-to-buy option to Lord Rothermere’s Daily Mail & General Trust (DMGT).
The move follows DMGT, which has been in exclusive talks with RedBird IMI since last month, finalising a £500m funding package that includes cash, an existing overdraft provision and a loan from its existing banker, NatWest.
As part of the deal, RedBird IMI, which failed to secure its own £500m deal with RedBird IMI JV partner, Gerry Cardinale’s US-based RedBird Capital, has agreed to wait two years before receiving the final £100m from DMGT. This is because the final payment is likely to be funded from a DMGT bond with Deutsche Bank which matures in 2027.
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“DMGT is determined to proceed at pace towards a resolution that brings much-needed certainty to Telegraph Media Group (TMG) employees after a protracted period of instability,” said a spokesperson for DMGT. “DMGT reiterates that the acquisition will be completely free from any prohibited foreign state influence, and that the Telegraph will remain editorially independent, while benefiting from significant investment to accelerate its international growth.”
Nandy will officially inform parliament that she has received the request from RedBird IMI, which took control of the titles after paying off loans owed to Lloyds Bank by the previous owners, the Barclay family, in 2023.
Nandy will then have to decide whether to trigger a public interest intervention notice (PIIN) to bring in Ofcom, the media regulator, and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to investigate potential plurality and competition issues.
The deal would bring a media conglomerate including the Daily Telegraph, the Sunday Telegraph, the Daily Mail, the Mail on Sunday, Metro, the i Paper and New Scientist together under the ownership of Rothermere and DMGT.
Should Nandy require a PIIN, the initial investigation would take up to 40 working days, and she could then call for an in-depth second-phase investigation, depending on its findings.
If the deal is approved, Nandy will lift the order put in place by former culture secretary Lucy Frazer to stop RedBird IMI making any significant changes to the Telegraph’s structure, staff or management without government consent.
DMGT insisted it would ensure the Telegraph “remains a beacon of authoritative news and commentary”, amid competition from digital sources.
