LONDON (AP) — The publisher of Britain's Daily Mail has entered exclusive talks to buy Telegraph Media Group in a deal that would combine two news groups traditionally aligned with the right-wing Conservative Party.
The Daily Mail and General Trust plc said on Saturday that talks were aimed at finalizing the terms of a 500 million pound ($654 million) deal to buy Telegraph from the Abu Dhabi-backed entity known as Redbird IMI.
The proposed deal comes after concerns over foreign ownership of British news organizations halted Redbird IMI's attempts to take control of the Daily Telegraph and its sister Sunday publication two years ago.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said she would review any new acquisition to ensure it protected the public interest and complied with laws governing “foreign influence” in media mergers.
DMGT said it expects to complete the deal “quickly.”
“Under ownership, the Daily Telegraph will become a global brand, just as the Daily Mail has become,” chairman Jonathan Harmsworth, also known as Lord Rothermere, said in a statement.
The battle for ownership of the Telegraph, a fixture of the British media landscape since 1855, began in 2023 when the Barclay family lost control of the company in a dispute with its creditors.
In November that year, a venture between New York-based RedBird Capital and Abu Dhabi-based International Media Investments said it had agreed to acquire Telegraph in exchange for loans that would allow Barclays to pay off its debts to Lloyds Banking Group.
But the deal sparked debate in the House of Commons about the dangers of foreign influence in British media – and, as a result, a national political debate.
The previous government, led by Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, quickly announced plans to review the proposed deal.
“It would be inappropriate for a foreign country to interfere with the accurate presentation of our news or freedom of expression in newspapers,” then-culture minister Lucy Fraser said at the time.
