Telegraph sale 'agreed in principle' after two-year ownership impasse
A £500m deal to end the two-year ownership impasse at the Daily Telegraph has been agreed "in principle", it has been announced.
A consortium led by US firm Redbird Capital was set to take control of Telegraph Media Group (TMG), with state-backed Abu Dhabi investment vehicle IMI among the investors.
The pair's original joint venture, known as RedBird IMI, had originally agreed to buy the Telegraph titles in 2023.
But prospects for a deal were held up by the previous Conservative government's subsequent ban on foreign state ownership of UK newspapers.
Money latest:
That ban was based on fears around editorial independence, but the rules were relaxed earlier this month by the current government which said a holding of up to 15% was acceptable.
It is understood that UK-based media investors would be among the proposed owners within the consortium.
Sky News reported on Monday that the Daily Mail's owner had been in talks over involvement.
The Telegraph newspaper itself reported that regulatory hurdles remained - a factor that could yet scupper completion of the deal.
Anna Jones, TMG chief executive, said: "Telegraph Media Group is an award-winning news media organisation, with exceptional journalism at its heart, supported by leading commercial expertise, a commitment to innovation and a laser focus on data to drive strategy.
"RedBird Capital Partners have exciting growth plans that build on our success - and will unlock our full potential across the breadth of our business."
RedBird, whose other UK interests include a 10% stake in the US group behind Liverpool FC, said its growth strategy would include "capital investment in digital operations, subscriptions and journalism".
Its statement continued: "RedBird will build on the strong financial foundations established by the current management team and will work with them to grow the brand internationally, with a focus on the United States where RedBird has a strong strategic presence across news, media and sports.
"Together, RedBird and TMG senior leadership will work to develop new content verticals in areas such as travel and events to maximise the commercial opportunities from a growing international and mass affluent subscriber base."
Redbird founder Gerry Cardinale added: "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.
"We believe that the UK is a great place to invest, and this acquisition is an important part of RedBird's growing portfolio of media and entertainment companies in the UK."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
E&E News
26 minutes ago
- E&E News
Here comes the sun: Vast majority of new UK homes to be fitted with solar panels
LONDON — The vast majority of new U.K. homes will have rooftop solar panels installed by default, the government has announced. The new policy will mean residents of new-build homes will save up to £530 per year compared with the energy price cap, the government estimates. The announcement comes in advance of the Future Homes Standard, to be published in autumn, which will set the regulations and guidelines for newly built homes. Advertisement The government confirmed Friday that solar panels will be included in that plan, leading to installations across the vast majority of new homes.
New York Times
28 minutes ago
- New York Times
China's Chokehold on This Obscure Mineral Threatens the West's Militaries
China's strict controls on the export of heat-resistant magnets made with rare earth minerals have exposed a major vulnerability in the U.S. military supply chain. Without these magnets, the United States and its allies in Europe will struggle to refill recently depleted inventories of military hardware. For more than a decade, the United States has failed to develop an alternative to China's supply of a specific kind of rare earth crucial for the manufacture of magnets for missiles, fighter jets, smart bombs and a lot of other military gear. Rare earth minerals are a central issue in the trade talks between the United States and China now underway in London. China produces the entire world's supply of samarium, a particularly obscure rare earth metal used almost entirely in military applications. Samarium magnets can withstand temperatures hot enough to melt lead without losing their magnetic force. They are essential for withstanding the heat of fast-moving electric motors in cramped spaces like the nose cones of missiles. On April 4, China halted exports of seven kinds of rare earth metals, as well as magnets made from them. China controls most of the world's supply of these metals and magnets. China's Ministry of Commerce declared that these materials had both civilian and military uses, and any further exports would be allowed only with specially issued licenses. The move, according to the ministry, would 'safeguard national security' and 'fulfill international obligations such as nonproliferation.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
New York Times
31 minutes ago
- New York Times
Trump Administration Live Updates: National Institutes of Health Workers Denounce ‘Harmful' Policies
The U.S. Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, at Lancaster House in London on Monday as trade talks resumed between the United States and China. Top officials from the Trump administration are meeting with their Chinese counterparts in London on Monday for a second round of economic talks, aiming to cement a trade truce between the world's two largest economies. The American delegation is led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Jamieson Greer, the United States' trade representative. China is represented by He Lifeng, the country's vice premier for economic policy, who led the previous round of talks in Switzerland. The meetings are expected to run through Tuesday, according to people familiar with the matter. The talks come at a delicate juncture for the global economy, which has been slowed by uncertainty and supply chain disruptions. In April, the United States paused some of the tariffs that Mr. Trump imposed on dozens of countries to provide time for trade negotiations. Those levies, as well as steep import taxes on Chinese goods, were thrust into further uncertainty in late May, when a U.S. trade court deemed them illegal. The tariffs, however, remain in place while an appeal process unfolds. As the U.S. delegation negotiates in London, the Trump administration faces a deadline to make its case to a federal appeals court for why the tariffs should continue. The legal limbo surrounding the tariffs could weaken the Trump administration's hand as it tries to negotiate a broader agreement to give American businesses greater access to China's market, push Beijing to buy more American products and attract more Chinese investment to build factories in the United States. At the same time, the Trump administration wants to make some tariffs essentially permanent to discourage a flood of Chinese exports of manufactured goods. The trade war has triggered sudden and drastic shifts in the flow of Chinese goods, most notably a sharp slowdown of Chinese exports to the United States. China on Monday reported that shipments to the United States fell by over 34 percent in May from the same month a year ago, the steepest decline since 2020. The slowdown may have contributed to Beijing's willingness to meet in London for more trade talks, experts said. In China, a slow-motion housing market collapse over the past four years has wiped out much of the savings of the country's middle class, leaving hundreds of millions of households reluctant to spend. China has tried to offset weak consumer spending at home with a huge, government-financed campaign to build factories and ramp up exports. But the Trump administration, like the Biden administration before it, has been wary that these exports could crush what is left of America's manufacturing sector, which is only half the size of China's. The Trump administration has cited trade imbalances as justification for tariffs against China and dozens of other countries, many of which pay for their own trade deficits with China by running large trade surpluses with the United States. Mr. Trump's trade agenda has upended international commerce this year, sending economic allies and adversaries scrambling to negotiate deals with Washington in hopes of a reprieve on tariff threats. The abrupt announcement of tariffs on America's largest trading partners have often been followed by reversals or pauses, forcing businesses to adjust their plans on the fly and rattling investors. The first round of negotiations between China and the United States, in Geneva last month, ended with promise. The countries agreed to temporarily reduce their tariffs, which exceeded 100 percent as a tit-for-tat trade war escalated. The two sides also agreed to hold additional talks as they worked to lower the temperature. However, the truce appeared to fray in recent weeks. China maintained strict curbs on exports of rare earth magnets that have crippled supply chains. Partly in response to those export curbs, among other things the Trump administration suspended sales to China of technologies related to jet engines, semiconductors and certain chemicals and machinery as well as proposed a plan to revoke visas for Chinese students associated with the Communist Party or studying in certain fields. The standoff frustrated Mr. Trump, who lashed out at China on social media and accused it of 'violating' the Geneva agreement. China hit back, arguing that it was the United States that was undermining the deal. A 90-minute conversation between Mr. Trump and Xi Jinping, China's leader, last week appeared to ease the tension. Mr. Trump suggested that the questions surrounding China's restrictions on critical minerals known as rare earths, and magnets made from them, had been addressed and that talks would proceed. Mr. Trump also seemed to soften his administration's stance on visas for Chinese students. It remains unclear what additional concession Washington or Beijing might be prepared to make in a broader economic agreement. The addition to the U.S. delegation of Mr. Lutnick, who was not part of the talks in May, suggested that there could be greater discussion of American export controls, which his agency oversees. The Trump administration also expressed concerns about China's currency practices in a report to Congress last week. Although it declined to formally label China a currency manipulator, the report warned that it might do so in the future if it found evidence that suggested China was weakening its currency. The talks in London come as many factories in the United States, Europe and Japan are quickly running out of rare earth magnets, for which China produces 90 percent of the world's supply. Beijing announced on April 4 that it would require export licenses for all exports of seven rare earth metals and magnets made from them, which are widely used in cars, drones, speakers, fighter jets and ballistic missiles. Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, said in an interview on CBS's 'Face the Nation' on Sunday that a goal of the talks would be to get shipments of rare earths from China 'to flow just as they did before the beginning of April.' Rare earths are a family of 17 metals found near the bottom of the periodic table. China is particularly dominant in the processing of the seven for which it now requires licenses to export, producing up to 99.9 percent of the world's supply. The big question lies in what concessions by the United States and others will prompt Beijing to allow further shipments of rare earths. In addition to pressing the United States to remove Mr. Trump's tariffs on Chinese goods, China's Ministry of Commerce said on Saturday that it had offered to speed up the approval of rare earth exports to Europe. But the ministry also called for the European Union to remove its recent tariffs on imports of electric cars from China, and it called for the bloc to allow more sales of high-tech goods to China. Under pressure from the United States, the Netherlands has limited the sale to China of equipment for manufacturing the most advanced semiconductors, which have many military as well as civilian applications. Alexandra Stevenson contributed reporting from Hong Kong.
