The culture secretary has approved Axel Springer’s £575 million takeover of the Telegraph, ending nearly three years of uncertainty over the ownership of the titles.
Lisa Nandy stated she does not find a basis to intervene and refer the deal to the media regulator, Ofcom, for a detailed regulatory investigation.
The culture secretary has the authority to call for further scrutiny of mergers on public interest grounds, as well as under the new foreign state influence regime.
While the deal is still subject to regulatory approvals in Ireland and Austria, Axel Springer stated the expected approval in the UK means it anticipates completing the deal by the end of June.
“We are pleased to have received UK government approval to proceed with this acquisition,” said Mathias Döpfner, the chief executive of Axel Springer. “After a prolonged period of uncertainty, we can confirm that we will invest significantly in the Telegraph’s editorial excellence and international growth.”
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The Telegraph titles will be added to Axel Springer’s media portfolio, which includes Europe’s largest newspaper, Bild, Politico, and Business Insider.
Döpfner, who was outbid by a £665 million offer for the Telegraph by the Barclay brothers in 2004, made an offer for the titles last month, disrupting a rival deal from the owner of the Daily Mail at the last moment.
He has assured that the editorial independence of the titles is “sacrosanct,” and has supported existing executives including the Telegraph’s editor, Chris Evans, the editor of its sister Sunday paper, Allister Heath, and the chief executive of Telegraph Media Group (TMG), Anna Jones.
Döpfner has committed to investing in the Telegraph to make it the “leading center-right media outlet in the English-speaking world,” with a rapid expansion planned for the US supported by the “significant expertise” of Politico and Business Insider.
Lord Rothermere’s Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) had been close to taking control of the Telegraph titles, having been authorized by the UK government to acquire the right-to-buy option from RedBird IMI.
However, the German media group submitted a substantially superior offer to DMGT’s £500 million deal, leading the United Arab Emirates-backed group that controls the Telegraph to seek UK government approval to transfer the sale permission to Axel Springer.
Nandy has approved the transaction. She stated: “I am pleased to be able to take these positive steps, which provide greater certainty to the Telegraph and its staff.”
The sale of the newspapers commenced in 2023 when the Barclay family lost control of the group due to £1.16 billion of unpaid debts owed to Lloyds bank.
RedBird IMI – 75% controlled by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the vice-president of the UAE and the owner of Manchester City – gained control of the publishing group after agreeing to pay the Barclays’ debts.
However, it was compelled to put the titles back up for sale after the British government enacted a law preventing foreign states or associated individuals from owning newspaper assets in the UK, with a 15% cap now in place after the introduction of the foreign state influence regime.
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A consortium led by Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird Capital, the junior partner in the RedBird IMI venture, offered a £500 million deal for the titles last year. However, it withdrew in November and DMGT secured its deal later that month.
TMG employs almost 900 staff, as per the most recent Companies House filing for 2024, with about 400 understood to be journalists.
GB News backer Sir Paul Marshall secured a £100 million deal to buy the Spectator, which was also part of DMGT, in 2024.
In 2015, Axel Springer was outbid by a last-minute £844 million bid from Nikkei, Japan’s largest media group, to purchase the Financial Times.
Lifestyle & Culture Editor
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