UK govt mulls intervening in Telegraph newspaper sale

Britain's government is considering intervening in the sale of the Telegraph newspaper to the owner of the Daily Mail over competition concerns, the UK's culture minister said Tuesday.

The Daily Mail and General Trust struck a £500-million ($673-million) deal with US-Emirati consortium RedBird IMI in November for the purchase of the 170-year-old paper.

The tie-up has the potential to create one of the biggest right-leaning media groups in the UK.

In a written statement to parliament on Tuesday, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said she was "minded to intervene" in the sale on public interest grounds.

She said the considerations involved whether there is "sufficient plurality of views" and "sufficient plurality of persons of control".

Nandy has sent a letter expressing concerns to relevant parties and has given them until Monday January 26 to respond.

Government intervention would revive uncertainty over the Telegraph's future, which has been in limbo since British bank Lloyds put the paper up for sale in 2023 to pay off heavy debts accumulated by former owners Frederick and David Barclay.

RedBird IMI, a joint venture between US investment firm RedBird Capital and Abu Dhabi's International Media Investments, had struck a deal for the Telegraph Media Group in late 2023.

However, the previous UK Conservative government triggered a swift resale given concern about the potential impact on freedom of speech due to Abu Dhabi's press censorship record.

The Tory government also amended merger laws to bar foreign powers from controlling UK newspapers.

RedBird then pursued the takeover under a revised structure but abruptly dropped its bid in November.