The culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, is to consider whether to trigger an investigation into the £500m takeover of the Telegraph titles by the owner of the Daily Mail, after she formally received a request from the up-for-sale publisher’s Abu Dhabi-backed owner.
RedBird IMI, which was forced to put the titles up for sale last spring after the government banned foreign states from owning UK newspapers, has 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 Gerry Cardinale’s US-based RedBird Capital, has agreed to wait two years before receiving the final £100m from DMGT.
The final payment is likely to be funded from a DMGT bond with Deutsche Bank that matures in 2027.
“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 together the Daily Telegraph, the Sunday Telegraph, the Daily Mail, the Mail on Sunday, Metro, the i Paper and New Scientist under the ownership of Rothermere.
Analysts believe Nandy will trigger the PIIN, which starts an investigation process of up to 40 working days, and depending on the findings she has the option to call for an in-depth second-phase investigation.
If the deal is approved, Nandy will lift the pre-emptive order put in place by Lucy Frazer, the former culture secretary, to stop RedBird IMI making any significant changes to the Telegraph’s structure, staff or management without government consent.
“My judgment is the deal will of course be scrutinised, competitors might complain, but there is a strong foundation for clearance,” said Alice Enders, an independent analyst. “I don’t think a phase two will be deemed necessary, and therefore there won’t be any remedies such as a sale of other titles required on competition grounds.”
DMGT said it would ensure the Telegraph “remains a beacon of authoritative news and commentary”, amid competition from digital sources.
