Latest news with #LordRothermere
Sky News
28-05-2025
- Business
- Sky News
Daily Mail chief to pay £35m for Telegraph stake
The owner of the Daily Mail is to pay more than £30m for a minority stake in rival right-leaning newspaper The Daily Telegraph as the latter's prospective owners assemble a consortium of strategic backers. Sky News has learnt that Lord Rothermere's Daily Mail and General Trust is to fork out just under £35m for a shareholding of about 10% in the Telegraph titles, implying an equity value of roughly £350m. Banking sources said that Goldman Sachs had been enlisted to provide advice to DMGT on the investment. A deal is expected to be struck imminently, according to insiders. RedBird Capital, the US-based investment firm, confirmed last week that it was exercising an option to take majority control of the newspapers, with Abu Dhabi state-backed vehicle IMI expected to acquire the maximum 15% stake permitted under proposed new media ownership rules. The government's decision to set the ownership threshold at 15% follows an intensive lobbying campaign by newspaper industry executives concerned that a permanent outright ban could cut off a vital source of funding to an already-embattled industry. However, it faces continued opposition from parliamentarians. Dovid Efune, owner of The New York Sun, is meanwhile continuing to assemble a rival bid for the Telegraph, having secured backing from Jeremy Hosking, the prominent City investor. RedBird IMI paid £600m in 2023 to acquire a call option that was intended to convert into ownership of the Telegraph newspapers and The Spectator magazine. That objective was thwarted by a change in media ownership laws - which banned any form of foreign state ownership. The Spectator was then sold last year for £100m to Sir Paul Marshall, the hedge fund billionaire, who has installed Lord Gove, the former cabinet minister, as its editor.
NZ Herald
24-05-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
US-based RedBird Capital poised to acquire the Telegraph UK in $1b-plus deal
A rival is attempting to disrupt the sale, and regulatory hurdles await. The Telegraph, which will mark the 170th anniversary of its first edition next month, has effectively been without a proprietor for two years. Cardinale 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. 'We believe 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.' In recent years the Telegraph has been navigating the decline of printed newspapers by investing in building its base of paying digital subscribers. Initial rapid growth slowed after 2021 when its previous owners, the Barclay family, got into financial difficulties and applied a squeeze to extract cash. RedBird Capital is expected to allow the Telegraph to reinvest more of its profits, which at the operating level were more than £54m last year. Cardinale aims for the brand to become a force in US and global journalism, targeting an intelligent centre-right readership that is not currently well-served. He also aims to expand the Telegraph 's successful travel offering and build an events business. Telegraph editor Chris Evans said: 'The Telegraph has made enormous progress in recent years since the launch of its digital subscription strategy, thanks to the hard work of its brilliant staff and valued support of its readers. 'But there is much more that can be achieved. With the right plan and the right investment by ambitious new owners, this venerable title can look forward to an era of unprecedented success.' Telegraph Media Group chief executive Anna Jones said the company had 'exceptional journalism at its heart'. She said: 'RedBird Capital Partners have exciting growth plans that build on our success – and will unlock our full potential across the breadth of our business.' As he works to complete the consortium, Cardinale, 58, is understood to be in detailed talks with the owner of the Daily Mail, Lord Rothermere. In 2023, Lord Rothermere lined up to bid for control of the Telegraph in an abortive auction, but is now said to be discussing taking a stake just shy of 10%. Sources close to the talks said a deal would position both titles to capture savings by sharing certain costs while seeking to stay within competition and media plurality rules. Lord Rothermere's company DMGT already sells print advertising space in the Telegraph and is involved in its printing. More minority investors are expected to be named in the coming weeks before a final deal is submitted to regulators. Sources said Cardinale had lined up more backers among his British contacts in sport and media investing. The former Goldman Sachs banker has emerged as a significant dealmaker in football in recent years, with RedBird Capital the owner of AC Milan and a shareholder in Fenway Sports, the group behind Liverpool FC. Cardinale is also poised to become a bigger player in Hollywood as a backer of the US$12b ($20b) takeover of the producer and broadcaster Paramount, which owns Channel 5 in Britain. IMI, the UAE's media investment vehicle, is expected to retain a stake in the Telegraph of up to 15% as part of the plans. Under proposals by Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, an outright ban on foreign states owning shares in newspapers, which blocked RedBird IMI's attempted takeover, is to be relaxed. The move follows lobbying by Lord Rothermere and Rupert Murdoch. They argued earlier plans for a more stringent 5% limit on foreign state investment would cut the news industry off from an important potential source of capital at a time of dizzying change. The 15% limit has split the Conservatives, who were in power when the RedBird IMI deal was blocked. The party's leadership has said it will support the higher figure but Julia Lopez, the media minister at the time of the original ban, branded Labour's decision a 'sell-out'. Lord Forsyth of Drumlean has said he will back a Liberal Democrat 'fatal motion' to obstruct the legislation and declared foreign state shareholdings a 'systemic threat to a free press'. He claimed the Government had yielded to diplomatic pressure after the UAE took offence at the decision to block RedBird IMI's attempted takeover of the Telegraph. Under the planned laws, the UAE will be barred from involvement in the running of the Telegraph as a purely passive shareholder. The Culture Secretary will have a duty to trigger an investigation of potential breaches and powers to force the country to exit its investment if it is found to have exercised influence. Cardinale's agreement in principle with IMI, which is ultimately controlled by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE, is expected to call time on a protracted parallel sale process overseen by the investment bank Robey Warshaw. An IMI spokesman said: 'We're delighted with this announcement and know that the Telegraph has a bright future under the control of Gerry Cardinale and RedBird Capital. 'This will end the uncertainty that has been facing the Telegraph, secure its future and enable it to thrive and grow for years to come.' Robey Warshaw ran a sale process last year that was eventually nicknamed 'the newspaper auction from hell'. It was the second in the saga since the Barclay family lost control of the Telegraph in early June 2023 after a dispute with Lloyds Banking Group over £1.2b of overdue debt. Dovid Efune, the publisher of the New York Sun, emerged as the winning bidder under the Robey Warshaw process last October, but subsequently struggled to raise the necessary funds. He has persisted in what some bankers and media executives view as a quixotic quest to finance his offer, however, and last weekend made a surprise return to the fray. Efune's latest bid includes support from the former Cabinet Minister Nadhim Zahawi, who is well-connected in the UAE and was involved in the original deal between the Barclay family and RedBird IMI, and hedge fund chief Jeremy Hosking, who is the main donor to the right-wing populist Reclaim party led by the controversial actor Laurence Fox. The Efune consortium is pitching its gate-crashing attempt as a 'British bid' in contrast with RedBird Capital's more international outlook. Sources close to the process said Efune's fundraising was still not complete and that the bid included a level of debt that would be difficult to support, although he remains in discussions to sign up more supporters. Cardinale's consortium is expected to rely on debt of little over £100m, or about two years of the Telegraph 's underlying profits. The current level of borrowing is about £60m. In recent days the two men have both been meeting influential figures in London to drum up support as the battle over the Telegraph seemingly reaches its climax. In one potentially comic scene, Cardinale and Efune this week ran into each other in Parliament as they met different peers interested in the issues. While Cardinale appears favourite to prevail, there remain hurdles to completing a deal. Efune may review legal options over the Government's handling of the lengthy process, for instance. Meanwhile, regulators are likely to closely scrutinise all members of the RedBird Capital consortium and their sources of funding. Cardinale is also yet to secure final commitments from his planned co-investors. The likely involvement of a rival newspaper publisher in DMGT will also pose questions about competition and media plurality that could further complicate and lengthen the path. A full investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority could take 24 weeks, although Nandy has discretion to opt for a quicker process. Cardinale has already met senior commercial and editorial executives at the Telegraph to build relationships and discuss business plans, including utilising RedBird Capital's technology experts.
Times
23-05-2025
- Business
- Times
RedBird Capital Partners to acquire The Telegraph, ending ownership battle
The Telegraph is about to be sold to a transatlantic consortium led by RedBird Capital Partners for £500 million, ending two years of uncertainty over its ownership. RedBird Capital's founder Gerry Cardinale has signed an agreement in principle to acquire control of The Telegraph from the investment vehicle RedBird IMI, which is majority backed by the United Arab Emirates. RedBird IMI was blocked by the government from taking full ownership of The Telegraph last year after parliamentary concerns over press freedom. RedBird Capital is expected to be joined in its ownership of the Telegraph by other British media investors. Lord Rothermere, owner of Daily Mail publisher DMGT, is understood to be in talks with Cardinale over taking a stake in the business of just shy
Times
20-05-2025
- Business
- Times
Daily Mail publisher DMGT eyes minority stake in Telegraph sale
The publisher of the Daily Mail has been in discussions over acquiring a minority stake in the rival Telegraph newspapers amid a protracted two-year battle over the future ownership of the titles. Lord Rothermere, who controls the Daily Mail & General Trust (DMGT), took part in negotiations last week over a possible deal to take a 9.9 per cent stake in the Telegraph titles, Sky News reported. The two media titles would remain editorially independent but look to share operational costs, according to the report, which added that the status of the talks remained unclear. An update on the future ownership of the Telegraph from RedBird IMI, a joint venture part-funded by an Emirati royal, is anticipated this week. Redbird IMI, DMGT and Telegraph Media
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Daily Mail-owner Rothermere eyes minority Telegraph stake in RedBird deal
The publisher of the Daily Mail has held talks in recent days about taking a minority stake in the Telegraph newspapers as part of a deal to end the two-year impasse over their ownership. Sky News has learnt that Lord Rothermere, who controls Daily Mail & General Trust (DMGT), was in detailed negotiations late last week which would have seen him taking a 9.9% stake in the Telegraph titles. It was unclear on Monday whether the talks were still live or whether they would result in a deal, with one adviser suggesting that the discussions may have faltered. One insider said that if DMGT did acquire a stake in the Telegraph, the transaction would be used as a platform to explore the sharing of costs across the two companies. They would, however, remain editorially independent. Sources said that RedBird and IMI, whose joint venture owns a call option to convert debt secured against the Telegraph into equity, were hoping to announce a deal for the future ownership of the media group this week, potentially on Thursday. However, the insider suggested that a transaction could yet be struck without any involvement from DMGT. The progress in the talks to seal new ownership for the right-leaning titles comes days after the government said it would allow foreign state investors to hold stakes of up to 15% in British national newspapers. That would pave the way for Abu Dhabi royal family-controlled IMI to own 15% of the Daily and Sunday Telegraph - a prospect which has sparked outrage from critics including the former Spectator editor Fraser Nelson. The decision to set the ownership threshold at 15% follows an intensive lobbying campaign by newspaper industry executives concerned that a permanent outright ban could cut off a vital source of funding to an already-embattled industry. RedBird Capital, the US-based fund, has already said it is exploring the possibility of taking full control of the Telegraph, while IMI would have - if the status quo had been maintained - been forced to relinquish any involvement in the right-leaning broadsheets. Other than RedBird, a number of suitors for the Telegraph have expressed interest but struggled to raise the funding for a deal. The most notable of these has been Dovid Efune, owner of The New York Sun, who has been trying for months to raise the £550m sought by RedBird IMI to recoup its outlay. On Sunday, the Financial Times reported that Mr Efune has secured backing from Jeremy Hosking, the prominent City investor. Another potential offer from Todd Boehly, the Chelsea Football Club co-owner, and media tycoon David Montgomery, has failed to materialise. RedBird IMI paid £600m in 2023 to acquire a call option that was intended to convert into ownership of the Telegraph newspapers and The Spectator magazine. That objective was thwarted by a change in media ownership laws - which banned any form of foreign state ownership - amid an outcry from parliamentarians. The Spectator was then sold last year for £100m to Sir Paul Marshall, the hedge fund billionaire, who has installed Lord Gove, the former cabinet minister, as its editor. The UAE-based IMI, which is controlled by the UAE's deputy prime minister and ultimate owner of Manchester City Football Club, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, extended a further £600m to the Barclays to pay off a loan owed to Lloyds Banking Group, with the balance secured against other family-controlled assets. Other bidders for the Telegraph had included Lord Saatchi, the former advertising mogul, who offered £350m, while Lord Rothermere, the Daily Mail proprietor, pulled out of the bidding for control of his rival's titles last summer amid concerns that he would be blocked on competition grounds. The Telegraph's ownership had been left in limbo by a decision taken by Lloyds Banking Group, the principal lender to the Barclay family, to force some of the newspapers' related corporate entities into a form of insolvency proceedings. DMGT, RedBird and IMI all declined to comment.
