US private equity firm strikes $675M deal to acquire The Telegraph

By Aysu Bicer

LONDON (AA) - The Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph, two of Britain’s most influential conservative newspapers, are set to come under American control after US private equity firm RedBird Capital agreed to acquire them for £500 million (approximately $675 million), ending a long-running ownership saga steeped in political and financial controversy.

The deal, which remains subject to regulatory approval, would hand RedBird sole control of the Telegraph Media Group, with founder Gerry Cardinale promising to “grow the brand in the UK and internationally, invest in its technology and expand its subscriber base.”

RedBird’s bid is backed by British investors and, crucially, does not rely on foreign state funding—a sticking point that torpedoed the previous ownership structure.

Until recently, the Telegraph was controlled by RedBird IMI, a joint venture between RedBird and Abu Dhabi’s International Media Investments (IMI), which is ultimately owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, vice-president of the UAE and owner of Manchester City Football Club.

That structure drew fierce scrutiny from Westminster and the British press, culminating in emergency legislation passed in 2024 banning foreign states and their proxies from owning UK news outlets.

The law forced RedBird IMI to put the Telegraph titles back on the market just months after assuming control from the indebted Barclay family.

Now, RedBird Capital says the new structure meets the UK’s updated media ownership rules.

IMI will retain a minority stake, taking advantage of a recent government shift allowing foreign state actors to hold up to 15% of British media assets—a move some critics say weakens the spirit of the original legislation.

Gerry Cardinale described the acquisition as “the start of a new era for the Telegraph,” signaling ambitions to move the titles beyond their traditional print stronghold.

The transaction, however, is unlikely to go smoothly.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy is expected to trigger a public interest intervention—a regulatory process designed to assess the implications of media takeovers on editorial independence and plurality.

The Daily Telegraph, established in 1855, has long been regarded as the British Conservative Party's house journal, playing an important role in shaping the right-wing media landscape in the UK.