Daily Mail owner DMGT says signed £500m deal to acquire The Telegraph
UK daily newspapers at a news stand in London on Aug 21, 2023. (File photo: AFP/Henry Nicholls)
LONDON: The owner of the UK tabloid Daily Mail struck a £500 million (US$654 million) deal with US-Emirati consortium RedBird IMI for the purchase of The Telegraph newspaper, The Daily Mail and General Trust said Saturday (Nov 22).
"DMGT has signed an agreement with Redbird IMI over the acquisition of the Telegraph Media Group at a valuation of £500 million", DMGT said in a press release sent to AFP.
The DMGT's potential purchase of its rival 170-year-old newspaper could make it one of the biggest right-leaning media groups in the UK and conclude the protracted sale marked by government intervention.
It comes a week after US investment group RedBird Capital Partners abruptly abandoned its takeover, reigniting uncertainty over the paper's future.
DMGT, which also owns national newspapers Metro and The i Paper, said it would enter a period of exclusivity to finalise the terms of the transaction, which the parties "expect to happen quickly".
The media conglomerate said it plans to "accelerate" the Telegraph's international expansion, with a focus on the United States, and that The Daily Telegraph would remain editorially independent from the other titles.
RedBird IMI, a joint venture between RedBird Capital and Abu Dhabi's International Media Investments, had struck a deal for TMG in late 2023.
However, the previous UK Conservative government triggered a swift resale amid concern over the potential impact on freedom of speech given Abu Dhabi's press censorship record.
The Tory government also amended merger laws to bar foreign powers from controlling UK newspapers.
Following the failed joint bid, the most recent deal would have given RedBird a majority stake and IMI a 15 per cent stake, British media reported.
"DMGT and RedBird IMI have worked swiftly to reach the agreement announced today, which will shortly be submitted to the Secretary of State," a spokesperson for Redbird IMI said.
The Telegraph, widely known as the "Tory bible" was put up for sale in 2023 by British bank Lloyds to pay off its previous owners, the Barclay brothers', debts, plunging the paper's future into question.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy will "review any new buyer acquiring the Telegraph in line with the public interest and foreign state influence media mergers regimes set out in legislation," her department said in a statement.
