Daily Mail owner strikes £500m deal to buy Telegraph titles | Telegraph Media Group
The owner of the Daily Mail has struck a £500m deal to buy Telegraph books in a move that will create a right-leaning publishing powerhouse.
Lord Rothermere’s Daily Mail & General Trust (DMGT) has entered a period of exclusivity with RedBird IMI, which has been seeking a buyer since it was forced to put the papers up for sale last spring to finalize the terms of the transaction.
Both sides say they expect this process to “take place quickly”, but the deal is likely to trigger an in-depth investigation by media regulator Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
The formation of a major right-wing media organization will raise concerns within Labor ranks at a time when Reform UK’s popularity surge against the government is rising.
“It is almost impossible to overstate the feelings of fear and hostility that the Telegraph and Post aroused in many Labor politicians, including senior members of the government,” said a former Labor adviser close to No 10.
“They were jointly responsible for numerous stories and sustained campaigns that ended their cabinet careers.”
DMGT, which owns a number of titles including Metro, i Paper and New Scientist, currently handles the advertising contract for Telegraph books.
Analysts have suggested that DMGT may sell i Paper and Metro to reduce its overall scale in the newspaper market in a bid to address competition concerns.
“DMGT is confident that any regulatory process can be concluded quickly and favorably, as approval of the acquisition is a challenging situation,” the company said.
The move comes barely a week after RedBird Capital, the US group led by Gerry Cardinale, pulled out of a £500m deal to buy the books.
Lord Rothermere had long wanted to take control of the Telegraph titles and had been lined up to take a stake of around 10% as part of the aborted RedBird Capital consortium deal.
“I have long admired the Daily Telegraph,” Rothermere said. “My family and I have an enduring love of newspapers and the journalists who make them. The Daily Telegraph is Britain’s largest and highest-quality broadsheet newspaper and I grew up respecting it. It has a remarkable history and has played a vital role in shaping Britain’s national debate for decades.”
DMGT said the Mail and Telegraph editorial teams will remain separate and editorially independent and investment will be provided to achieve the games’ aim of becoming a global brand.
DMGT said the deal would provide “much-needed certainty” to Telegraph staff left in limbo by a sales process that took more than two years.
“DMGT and RedBird IMI worked quickly to reach the agreement, which was announced today and will be presented to the secretary of state shortly,” a RedBird IMI spokesman said.
Culture secretary Lisa Nandy will review any deal for Daily Mail owner DMGT to buy the Telegraph newspaper.
A spokesman for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said: “The Secretary of State takes note of the announcement of a possible new deal. He will review any new purchaser of the Telegraph in line with the public interest and foreign state influence media merger regimes set out in the legislation.”
RedBird Capital, the junior partner of the RedBird IMI consortium, stepped in after the government introduced rules banning foreign governments from owning newspapers in the UK.
IMI is controlled by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan of Abu Dhabi, vice president of the United Arab Emirates and owner of Manchester City FC.
Two years ago DMGT was in talks with Qatari investors about backing a bid for the Telegraph group but later decided against the venture.
Earlier this year the government changed the law to allow foreign governments and investors to hold up to a 15% stake in UK newspapers.
DMGT said this deal would comply with the new foreign state influence (FSI) regime as there would be “no foreign state investment or capital in the financing structure”.
