Daily Mail owner agrees to buy The Telegraph for $654 million

LONDON

The owner of the U.K. tabloid Daily Mail struck a 500 million pound ($654 million) deal with U.S.-Emirati consortium RedBird IMI for the purchase of The Telegraph newspaper, The Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) said on Nov. 22.

The DMGT's potential purchase of its rival 170-year-old newspaper could make it one of the biggest right-leaning media groups in the U.K. and conclude the protracted sale marked by government intervention.

DMGT said it would enter a period of exclusivity to finalize the terms of the transaction, which the parties "expect to happen quickly."

The media conglomerate said it plans to "accelerate" the Telegraph's international expansion, with a focus on the U.S.

RedBird IMI, a joint venture between RedBird Capital and Abu Dhabi's International Media Investments, had struck a deal for TMG in late 2023.

However, the previous U.K. Conservative government triggered a swift resale amid concern over the potential impact on freedom of speech given Abu Dhabi's press censorship record.

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

The Telegraph, widely known as the "Tory bible" was put up for sale in 2023 by British bank Lloyds to pay off its previous owners, the Barclay brothers', debts, plunging the paper's future into question.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy will "review any new buyer acquiring the Telegraph in line with the public interest and foreign state influence media mergers regimes set out in legislation," her department said in a statement.