Daily Telegraph to be sold to US firm RedBird Capital
LONDON — American buyout firm RedBird has agreed a deal to take control of the Daily and Sunday Telegraph after a two-year ownership vacuum.
RedBird Capital will buy the stake owned by UAE's Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Sultan al-Nahyan who had bankrolled an earlier bid.
That bid was rejected by the previous government, which passed a law preventing foreign governments owning British newspapers or news magazines.
The current proposed deal will need regulatory approval.
Both Telegraph titles and the Spectator magazine were put up for auction by Lloyds Bank, who seized them from the Barclay family for non-payment of outstanding debts.
In a bold but ultimately unsuccessful move, a consortium of RedBird and Sheikh Mansour's IMI paid off the Barclay brothers' debts in full hoping to shortcut the auction process.
However, the fact that the consortium was almost entirely funded by IMI saw the government intervene and prevent it taking majority ownership.
It is thought that IMI will retain a minority stake of less than 15% in the two papers.
Meanwhile, the Spectator was sold to hedge fund billionaire Sir Paul Marshall last year for £100m.
The BBC understands the purchase price will see RedBird IMI get its money back in full.
It brings to an end a two-year limbo period which the Telegraph staff found unsettling and left them concerned that sufficient investment and direction was lacking.
RedBird founder Gerry Cardinale told the BBC he has plans to expand the Telegraph's reach and subscriber base in the US, believing there to be a gap in the market.
Among other investments, RedBird Capital owns the Italian football team AC Milan. — BBC
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Leaders
15 hours ago
- Leaders
The Zionist Project Will Fail: American Activist
An American political activist predicted that the Zionist project and the State of Israel will fail, as more people are waking up to the truth about Israel's crimes against the Palestinians. In a viral video on social media platforms, the American activist, known by the name 'Honest Appraisal1,' stated several reasons that will erode the Israeli state and weaken the Western support for its regime. Demographic Changes The activist pointed to many reasons for the potential failure of the Zionist project and the Israeli State. The first is that 'the economically viable population is reducing,' and 'there is a serious shift in the demographics' in Israel. 'In 2022, there was a significant increase in net migration, 75,000 people, massive rise over 2021.' But in 2024, 'net negative migration with 18,200 leaving overall,' he said. Qualified People Leaving The American activist said that there is a lot of dual citizens – Europeans, Canadians, Americans – who have moved to Israel, because changes in the birth right laws and other aspects had lots of people coming in and rapidly becoming Israeli citizens. 'Now the people are going out, people who can. And that's either because they can return to their countries of origin or they can immigrate to other countries because they qualify for immigration. 'And those tend to be the highly qualified people, so there is undoubtedly a massive brain drain out of Israel, including many economically active people or entrepreneurs,' he noted. He also said that many of them leave out of fear, and in some cases due to opposition to what Netanyahu, Likud and the Israeli military are doing in Palestine. Psychopaths Staying The activist said that those who stay are 'the people who can't leave or are ideologically committed to the Zionist project and Israel.' He described them as a 'punch of psychopaths' because of what they are doing. He pointed to the fact that Israel does not have extradition treaties with any other country, including its greatest ally the US. Therefore, the country has become 'a festering cauldron for Jewish pedophiles, rapists, conmen, murderers fleeing their countries of origin to a safe harbor of Israel,' he said. 'So, the population is degrading literally on a daily basis, both in terms of economic viability but also in terms of psychopathy. This must lead to the erosion of what they currently call their civilization, their culture,' he noted. On top of that comes 'the murderers of the Israeli military reservists and soldiers returning from the genocide of the Palestinians, having seen dead friends and relatives killed by the superior military forces of Hezbollah and Hamas, on top of the PTSG for the horrendous actions they have taken in service of Israel. The injured and disabled and the traumatized who will be a cost to the nation not a benefit to it,' he added. Economic Activity The war in Gaza has caused economic recession in Israel. 'Tourism is dead,' the activist said, because 'Israelis hate Christians, spit on them, and deride them when they visit the scared places in Bethlehem and Jerusalem and other cities. No one will go there also out of fear of liberation organizations rockets or another October 7.' Moreover, he pointed out that trade is ruined partly for moral reasons but also 'because of the obvious fact that the Lebanese pager attack opened the world's eyes to the fact that if you buy any kind of hardware from Israel, or Israel is part of the supply chain, you are taking the risk of acquiring an explosive that someone in Tel Aviv can detonate it.' He also warned that Israel might misuse the data of its allies as part of its efforts to 'control the narrative around the current ethnic cleansing in Palestine and the creation of the Greater Israel. That side of their service industry is definitely dying, because the Global South has long ago abandoned this stuff.' Western Support The American activist noted that 'Israel in itself as a single entity is dying under the Zionists, but it is kept alive by the US and Western EU countries. But that is going to change because even the most MAGA people in the world are waking up to the fact that right now the US is not America First, but Israel First; that the promised action of Trump administration about Epstein, lower taxes, freedom of speech are all wasted at the behest of Israel, and subverted into the arrest, mistreatment and disappearance of opposition speakers and writers.' He added: 'And most importantly, the US economy is entirely directed toward Israel and war – which is what Donald Trump said he was against,' meaning the war. 'In Europe, hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people wake up to the fact that their thoughts about and attitude towards Israel is wrong. And eventually, that has to lead to a change in policy and withdrawal of support for the ethnic cleansing and genocidal regime in Tel Aviv,' he said. In addition to that, 'the world's other two superpowers, Russia and China – particularly China – are supporting Palestinian liberation and watching their adversary the US wasting its money on Israel and laughing as the US deliberately weakens itself on a daily basis in support of the genocidal regime in Tel Aviv,' he noted. 'These are the reasons why Zionism is ultimately going to fail,' the American activist concluded. Short link : Post Views: 103
Saudi Gazette
3 days ago
- Saudi Gazette
Trump doubles steel and aluminum tariffs to 50%
WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump announced Friday a sharp increase in tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, raising the rate from 25% to 50%, in a bid to bolster American manufacturing and close what he described as loopholes exploited by foreign competitors. Speaking at a rally held at a U.S. Steel facility in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Trump told supporters and industry stakeholders: 'We are going to be imposing a 25% increase. We're going to bring it from 25% to 50%... which will even further secure the steel industry in the United States. Nobody's going to get around that.' Trump argued that the previous tariff rate allowed some importers to bypass the intended protections. 'At 25%, they can sort of get over that fence. At 50%, they can no longer get over the fence,' he said, calling it 'a great deal' for American producers. Addressing investors in the domestic steel sector, the president emphasized his commitment to economic nationalism and industrial revival, adding: 'I said the tariff to me is the most beautiful word in the dictionary.' — Agencies
Saudi Gazette
5 days ago
- Saudi Gazette
Appeals court pauses ruling that blocked Trump's tariffs
WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court has paused Wednesday night's ruling from the Court of International Trade that blocked President Donald Trump's tariffs. The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit's ruling restores Trump's ability to levy tariffs using the emergency powers he declared earlier this year. The appeals court also ordered that both sides provide written arguments on the question of the blocking of Trump's tariffs, to be filed by early next month. The pause adds to the confusion and uncertainty swirling around Trump's tariffs, which have been a key pillar of his economic policy. The Court of International Trade ruled Wednesday that Trump did not have the authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose sweeping tariffs. The Trump administration immediately appealed the decision, setting the course for a legal battle over the economic policy that Trump promises will re-focus the American economy on manufacturing but that could raise prices for small businesses and consumers. The pause from the appeals court came less than 24 hours a lengthy post on his Truth Social platform Thursday evening, Trump argued the CIT decision undermines presidential power, claiming it would force the president to get Congressional approval for his reciprocal tariffs. The president also called on the Supreme Court to step in and reverse the CIT decision.'The U.S. Court of International Trade incredibly ruled against the United States of America on desperately needed Tariffs but, fortunately, the full 11 Judge Panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Court has just stayed the order by the Manhattan-based Court of International Trade. Where do these initial three Judges come from? How is it possible for them to have potentially done such damage to the United States of America? Is it purely a hatred of 'TRUMP?' What other reason could it be?' Trump wrote.'Hopefully, the Supreme Court will reverse this horrible, Country threatening decision, QUICKLY and DECISIVELY. Backroom 'hustlers' must not be allowed to destroy our Nation!' Trump Navarro, Trump's top trade adviser, told reporters that while the pause was not a surprise, the administration is pursuing 'all strategic options.''We will hear, within the next day or two, at a minimum, from the United States Trade Representative on how we will respond to all of this. We will respond forcefully, and we think we have a very good case with respect to this,' Navarro suggested that the administration is looking at its other tools to impose tariffs, in addition to appealing the case through the courts.'I can assure the American people that the Trump tariff agenda is alive, well, healthy and will be implemented to protect you, to save your jobs and your factories and to stop shipping foreign wealth, our wealth, into foreign hands,' he Liberty Justice Center, which represented several companies suing to stop the tariffs, said in a statement Thursday that the decision by the appeals court 'is merely a procedural step as the court considers the government's request for a longer stay pending appeal.''We are confident the Federal Circuit will ultimately deny the government's motion shortly thereafter, recognizing the irreparable harm these tariffs inflict on our clients,' Jeffrey Schwab, senior counsel at Liberty Justice Center said in the two rulings – halting the tariffs, then staying that decision – came in under 24 hours, a whirlwind that adds to the chaos around Trump's economic Wednesday evening, the USCIT judges blocked all tariffs invoked under IEEPA – the 'Liberation Day' tariffs Trump announced on April 2 and also the tariffs placed earlier this year against China, Mexico and Canada, designed to combat fentanyl coming into the United States. Notably, the order does not include the 25% tariffs on autos, auto parts, steel or aluminum, which were under a different law, Section 232 of the Trade Expansion unanimously came to a summary judgement on two separate cases in one opinion. One was a lawsuit was filed in April by the Liberty Justice Center, a libertarian legal advocacy group representing wine-seller VOS Selections and four other small businesses. The other was filed by twelve Democratic states brought against the government over tariffs. The court also ordered a window of 10 calendar days for the administration to roll back the tariffs in Trump administration appealed that same day, just hours after the decision. On Thursday, the administration threatened to take the case to the Supreme Court if it was not granted a stay by either the appeals court or the at a press briefing early Thursday afternoon, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt lambased the CIT's decision, calling the three-judge panel 'activist judges,' though it includes a judge appointed by Trump during his first term. The CIT's ruling, she said, was an effort to 'brazenly (abuse) their judicial power to usurp Trump's authority.'The appeals court granted the stay later on Thursday afternoon, setting a deadline of June 5 for the plaintiffs to respond and June 9 for the government to on Thursday, in a separate lawsuit, US District Court Judge Rudolph Contreras ruled that two American family-owned toy companies, Learning Resources and hand2mind, would be irreparably harmed by Trump's tariffs, and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act that Trump cited contains no provision for Contreras issued a preliminary injunction protecting the two companies, the judge paused it for two weeks, expecting an appeal. The Trump administration has quickly appealed Contreras' ruling to the US DC Circuit Court of Appeals. — CNN
