US investment group RedBird Capital has withdrawn its offer to purchase the Daily and Sunday Telegraph for £500 million. This decision follows a prior attempt to acquire the Telegraph that met with opposition from politicians due to the majority funding from Abu Dhabi’s International Media Investments (IMI), which is owned by the Abu Dhabi royal family.
Recent legal amendments restricted foreign sovereign wealth funds to a maximum 15% stake in newspapers and periodicals. Although RedBird’s latest bid adhered to this regulation, the UK government planned to subject the acquisition to regulatory scrutiny.
A representative for RedBird confirmed the withdrawal, stating, “RedBird has today withdrawn its bid for the Telegraph Media Group.” The spokesperson expressed confidence in the future of the Telegraph and highlighted the intention to find a solution beneficial to the employees and readers. Sources close to RedBird indicated that they believed their bid would have succeeded during the government review process but noted that unfavorable articles from the current Telegraph newsroom contributed to their decision to withdraw.
RedBird has faced scrutiny regarding the level of investment it has received from Chinese and Gulf-based investors. An IMI Group spokesperson reaffirmed their commitment to ending uncertainty surrounding the Telegraph and securing its long-term success, mentioning ongoing communication with potential interested parties regarding a sale.
RedBird founder Gerry Cardinale had aimed to enhance the Telegraph’s reach and subscriber base in the US, seeing an opportunity within the market. The Daily Telegraph has been in a state of uncertainty for over two years since the RedBird-IMI consortium addressed the outstanding debts of the previous owners, the Barclay family, with the hope of eventually acquiring the newspapers.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c993drmj1dyo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss