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RedBird Capital Partners has agreed to buy the Telegraph Media Group in a £500mn deal, signalling an end to one of the most protracted and tortuous sales of a British newspaper in recent history.
RedBird said the deal would make it the sole controlling owner, leaving Abu Dhabi’s IMI with a minority stake after the British government changed the law to stop the newspaper from becoming owned by a foreign state-backed fund.
The sale of the Telegraph was kicked off two years ago when Lloyds Banking Group seized control following unpaid debts from the Barclay family, which had owned the Telegraph since 2004.
A deal struck to buy the Telegraph media group by RedBird IMI, which had three-quarters of its funding from Abu Dhabi, for about £550mn was then blocked by the former Conservative government. The UK government last week confirmed plans to set foreign state ownership of British national newspapers at 15 per cent.
Redbird is still in talks with a number of UK-based investors to join in a consortium, including Lord Rothermere’s DMGT, which owns the Daily Mail.
Gerry Cardinale, founder and managing partner of RedBird, said: “This transaction marks the start of a new era for The Telegraph as we look to grow the brand in the UK and internationally, invest in its technology and expand its subscriber base.”
Cardinale said he would work with the UK government and regulators to complete the acquisition process. The Financial Times first reported the new bid to take control of the newspaper by Cardinale and the involvement of Rothermere.
