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The Guardian
10 hours ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Ministers refuse to name companies that lobbied them over foreign ownership of UK newspapers
Ministers are refusing to name the media companies that lobbied them over laws restricting foreign state ownership of British newspapers, the Guardian can reveal. The government announced last month it was tripling the proportion of a British newspaper that could be owned by an overseas power to 15%. The change paves the way for the Telegraph to be bought by a consortium including an investment vehicle backed by the United Arab Emirates. However, ministers have taken the unusual step of ordering secrecy over the names of four media companies who responded to a consultation on the issue. A crossbench group of peers scrutinising the proposed law change said they had been told not to reveal the companies involved. The group, which includes Labour peers, said: 'We were asked by the department not to reveal the identity of the organisations which responded. We are concerned about the department's decision to treat information about the respondents to a public consultation confidentially. 'This is an unusual approach, especially as the published consultation document made clear that a summary of the key points raised would be published on the department's website, including 'a list of the organisations that responded'.' The Guardian understands that Rupert Murdoch's News UK was one of the companies to respond. Lord Rothermere's Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) group, which owns the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday and the i Paper, has also reportedly given its view to ministers. It is not known what position either company took. News UK and DMGT declined to comment. The Guardian has already revealed that a UAE delegation met Downing Street officials weeks before the law change was announced. DMGT has links to the Gulf, where it has focused its events business. Lord Rothermere was also spotted among the high-profile media figures in Doha last month meeting the US president, Donald Trump, and the Qatari emir, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. The law change, which is to be subjected to a House of Commons vote, is seen as part of Keir Starmer's drive to woo overseas investors as part of his search for UK economic growth. But there are concerns in parliament over easing of the state ownership law. Max Wilkinson, the Lib Dem spokesperson for culture, media and sport, said: 'It's unbelievable that ministers will not reveal who advised them. Many people will assume the worst: that vested interests have bent the will of the government on this vital issue. 'Our country has a proud history of free and independent journalism. It's a principle that lies at the heart of our democratic tradition. The willingness of our government to water that down is deeply concerning. The ministers involved must come clean. Meanwhile, me and my Lib Dem colleagues in parliament will work fearlessly to stand up for our free press and block this legislation from passing.' According to the government's summary of the arguments presented to it over the proposed law change, one unnamed company pushed for the threshold for state ownership to be raised to 25% of a newspaper. It pointed to national security laws that currently allow foreign states to own 25% of vital infrastructure, like nuclear power plants. Such pressure to relax the rules around state ownership is a sign of the increasing role in the media played by funds backed by Gulf states. While the UAE is poised for a share of the Telegraph, Saudi Arabia is already invested in television sports rights via the streamer Dazn. The law change effectively paves the way for the Telegraph to be acquired by US fund RedBird Capital, with a minority stake held by IMI, a UAE-controlled vehicle. The Guardian understands Lord Rothermere is still in talks over his own minority stake in the Telegraph Media Group, as part of RedBird's consortium. However, the takeover has still not taken place. A Department for Culture, Media and Sport spokesperson said: 'In deciding whether to reveal the names of individual consultation respondents we must balance the public interest of transparency with the needs of commercial confidentiality. 'Our approach in finalising the foreign state influence rules will safeguard our news media from foreign state control whilst recognising that news organisations must be able to raise vital funding.'
The Guardian
14-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Foreign states limited to 15% stake in UK newspapers amid Telegraph uncertainty
The government will allow foreign states to own stakes of up to 15% in British newspapers in a move that could finally end two years of uncertainty over the ownership of the Telegraph titles. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is to announce the limit on Thursday through the introduction of a new statutory instrument in parliament, ending a months long consultation involving intense lobbying by newspaper owners. A 15% cap could allow Gerry Cardinale's US private equity firm RedBird Capital to finalise a deal to buy the the Daily and Sunday Telegraph. Labour has been considering the level of ownership threshold since a law was passed last year by the Conservative government blocking foreign states or associated individuals from owning newspaper assets in the UK after an outcry over the attempted purchase of the Telegraph titles by an Abu Dhabi-backed consortium. RedBird IMI – a joint venture between RedBird Capital and IMI, which is funded by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the vice-president of the United Arab Emirates and owner of Manchester City football club – took control of the publishing group in November 2023. The consortium, which agreed to pay the debts of the previous owners, the Barclay family, was then forced to run an auction process to try to recoup its £500m investment when the new law made the acquisition 'no longer feasible'. The previous Conservative government had been considering a cap of 5% to 10%. Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, has settled on a 15% threshold after lobbying by groups including Rupert Murdoch's News UK, the owner of the Sun and Times titles, and the Daily Mail parent company, Daily Mail & General Trust (DMGT). The newspaper groups argued that setting the threshold too low could cut off a significant source of potential funding for the industry. DMGT had held talks with Qatari backers for a potential bid for the Telegraph but decided that any potential deal would probably be thwarted by competition issues. The setting of a threshold allows RedBird Capital, which holds a 25% stake in the RedBird IMI joint venture, to fully formulate a potential deal to take over the Telegraph titles. The US-based RedBird – which holds investments including a stake in the parent company of Liverpool FC and is seeking to jointly acquire the TV and film business Paramount – is putting together a deal that will dilute IMI's 75% holding in the joint venture to a level acceptable to the government.
