Abu Dhabi’s IMI will take a minority stake within the firm of not more than 15 p.c.
A consortium led by US funding agency RedBird Capital Companions has agreed to purchase the writer of the UK’s 170-year-old Each day Telegraph newspaper for about $674m (500 million kilos).
Redbird mentioned it has reached an settlement in precept to grow to be controlling proprietor of the Telegraph Media Group, ending a prolonged takeover saga for the conservative-leaning newspaper on Friday.
Gerry Cardinale, founder and managing accomplice of RedBird, mentioned the sale “marks the beginning of a brand new period for The Telegraph as we glance to develop the model within the UK and internationally, put money into its expertise and develop its subscriber base”.
The Telegraph group, beforehand owned by the UK’s Barclay household, was put up on the market two years in the past to assist repay the household’s money owed. It publishes the Each day and Sunday Telegraph newspapers and weekly newsmagazine The Spectator, which all are intently allied to the UK’s Conservative Occasion.
In 2023, there was a suggestion to purchase the publications from RedBird IMI, a consortium backed by RedBird Capital Companions and Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of Abu Dhabi’s royal household and the vice chairman of the United Arab Emirates.
However the consortium pulled out final yr following sturdy opposition from the UK authorities, which launched laws to dam international state possession of the British press.
Underneath the deal, Abu Dhabi’s IMI will take a minority stake of no more than 15 p.c within the Telegraph as a member of the consortium. The sale have to be permitted by British regulators.
RedBird has investments in soccer crew AC Milan, the dad or mum firm of Liverpool soccer membership and movie manufacturing firm Skydance.
Telegraph Media Group chief govt Anna Jones mentioned that “RedBird Capital Companions have thrilling progress plans that construct on our success — and can unlock our full potential throughout the breadth of our enterprise.”
The Spectator was offered in September to British hedge fund investor Paul Marshall.
