AssetID: 54787984
Headline: UNCAPTIONED: Daily Telegraph to Be Sold to US Firm RedBird in Deal Ending Two-Year Ownership Gap
Caption: Daily Telegraph to Be Sold to US Firm RedBird in Deal Ending Two-Year Ownership Gap. RedBird Capital, a US buyout firm, has agreed to take control of the Daily and Sunday Telegraph, ending a two-year ownership vacuum. The deal will see RedBird buy the stake previously owned by Emirati royal Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Sultan al-Nahyan. Sheikh Mansour had funded an earlier bid for the papers, which was rejected by the UK government due to laws restricting foreign government ownership. The current deal is subject to regulatory approval but marks a significant shift in ownership of the British media titles. The Telegraph titles, along with the Spectator magazine, were put up for auction by Lloyds Bank after the Barclay family failed to pay outstanding debts. RedBird and Sheikh Mansour’s IMI consortium previously attempted to bypass the auction process by paying off the Barclay brothers' debts but was blocked by the government. IMI is expected to retain a minority stake of less than 15% in the two newspapers, while the Spectator was sold to Sir Paul Marshall last year. RedBird’s purchase of the Telegraph titles is expected to see the firm recoup its investment and marks the end of the ownership limbo that had unsettled staff. RedBird founder Gerry Cardinale plans to expand the Telegraph’s reach and subscriber base in the US, believing there’s an untapped market. RedBird Capital also owns AC Milan and has a history of investing in sports and media ventures. Instructions: THIS VIDEO MUST NOT BE EDITED FOR LENGTH TO COMBINE WITH OTHER CONTENT
Keywords: Current Affairs & Politics,RedBird Capital,Daily Telegraph,Sheikh Mansour,media ownership,regulatory approval,IMI,Spectator,auction,Gerry Cardinale,UK government,investment,expansion,US market,media,acquisitions,sports,ownership,newspapers,UK,business deal,regulatory,ownership gap
PersonInImage: