Latest news with #foreignownership
The Guardian
a day ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Telegraph sale poised to go ahead after Lords foreign ownership vote
The sale of the Telegraph looks set to finally go through after government legislation to allow foreign states to own up to 15% in British newspapers survived a potentially fatal vote in the House of Lords. Gerry Cardinale's RedBird Capital is leading a consortium looking to buy the Telegraph for £500m, in a deal that would result in the United Arab Emirates retaining a stake of 15%. Ministers have been attempting to push through legislation to allow foreign states to own passive stakes of up to 15% in British newspapers, after the previous Conservative administration proposed a law in March last year that set the limit at zero. That cap meant the joint venture RedBird IMI, which bought the Telegraph Media Group in November 2023, would have to sell up as it is 75% funded by International Media Investments (IMI) – controlled by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the vice-president of the United Arab Emirates. The US private equity company RedBird Capital, which contributed the other 25% of funding, has tabled a deal to buy the Telegraph under which IMI would retain a minority stake of up to 15%, although RedBird has said it can fully fund a deal in its own right. The government's foreign ownership bill would allow this purchase to go ahead but the plan was put at risk on Tuesday after Liberal Democrat peers attempted to block it via a rare 'fatal motion', the strongest opposition that can be taken in the House of Lords, which would force ministers to reintroduce the legislation. After an almost three-hour debate, peers voted to reject the fatal motion 267 to 155, meaning the 15% cap will pass into law. However, another statutory instrument will need to be introduced after the parliamentary recess in September to add a rule that will stop foreign investors from buying multiple 15% stakes in British newspapers. No final deal for the Telegraph has yet been signed, and a takeover will still face regulatory hurdles, including a public interest test that will be triggered by the culture secretary, Lisa Nandy. It will also be subject to a full investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority. skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to Business Today Free daily newsletter Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Enter your email address Sign up Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy . We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion However, the government's win in the House of Lords is likely to prompt RedBird Capital to publicly announce its formal bid in the coming weeks. RedBird Capital – which holds various investments including a stake in the parent company of Liverpool football club and is seeking to jointly acquire the TV and film business Paramount – has said that if the deal goes ahead it would become the sole controlling investor of the Telegraph. It is also set to bring on British partners with small stakes, including the owner of the Daily Mail and Len Blavatnik, the owner of Warner Music and the sports and entertainment streaming service Dazn.
Bloomberg
2 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Malaysia Seeks 20% Trump Tariff But Resists Some US Demands
Malaysia's government is seeking to lower US tariffs threatened by President Donald Trump to about 20%, but is reluctant to meet certain demands around electric vehicles and foreign ownership, according to people familiar with the matter. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's negotiators are seeking a tariff lower than the 25% that takes effect Aug. 1 — aiming for something closer to levels for regional neighbors Indonesia and Vietnam, said the people, who asked not to be identified given the negotiations are ongoing.
Bloomberg
2 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Malaysia Seeks 20% Trump Levy But Resists US Demands on EVs, Foreign Ownership
Malaysia's government is seeking to lower US tariffs threatened by President Donald Trump to about 20%, but is reluctant to meet certain demands around electric vehicles and foreign ownership, according to people familiar with the matter. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's negotiators are seeking a tariff lower than the 25% that takes effect Aug. 1 — aiming for something closer to levels for regional neighbors Indonesia and Vietnam, said the people, who asked not to be identified given the negotiations are ongoing.
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
The real threat facing British media is not foreign investment
The current debate around foreign ownership of our media is a bizarre one. There is this constant fear that somehow a nasty foreign power will get control of a brand we love and, without our knowledge, gently pervert its editorials until we are slaves to a foreignphilosophy and are turned against ourselves. This newspaper was under exactly such a 'threat' of a so-called hostile takeover. Rather than being delighted that a pool of sovereign capital from an allied country wanted to invest in our ailing traditional media, we were instead horrified. The debate raged in the House of Lords. I should declare an interest here: my wife's family bought The Telegraph in the 19th century. I feel its sense of national heritage keenly and have the same sentimental attachment to our historic brands as anyone. However, the fact is, we need capital to fund the mega-projects of the future. We urgently require money to take our once-great industries such as media and turn them into a world-class offering, which – and this is important – keep British culture dominant globally. On Tuesday in the House of Lords, we will debate whether or not a foreign sovereign entity can buy as much as 15pc of a media company's stock without triggering a range of complex processes to prevent them gaining more. This is an increase from the 5pc considered by the previous government. This is frankly a weak increase from an absurdly low level. The normal definition of minimal ownership is 25pc and even our very strict National Investment Act sets the reasonable levels at 20pc. We should instead be celebrating international investment in our country's arts and media. French broadcaster Canal+ has recently moved its listing to London. Billions of pounds have poured into funding our super-wave of film studio developments. The Daily Mail website remains one of the most popular in the whole world. If we think it's a good idea to strip out all sovereign wealth funds from investing in the UK, then we have only ourselves to blame when these companies go under, shrink or simply leave for more welcoming regimes. The big question to answer now is: what exactly is a media company? My children have never read a newspaper. They couldn't even operate The Telegraph in physical form. They get their news and information from a variety of sources, as we all do. Is a British media firm a newspaper or is it a TV production company, a theme park or a social media influencer? The fact is that we have moved from the age of literacy to the age of oracy. We now don't read as much as we did to form our opinions, but listen and watch instead. As politicians, how we get votes comes more from TikTok (which is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance) than The Daily Telegraph. Creating laws for yesterday's structures is very parliament, but in reality we are missing where the threats lie. That threat is not in a sovereign wealth fund buying a 15pc stake in a British newspaper, but in how an algorithm is structured to drive a certain type of content to our citizens. Politicians also love to be seen to 'protect' things. This is why we brought in the National Security and Investment Act (NSIA). It effectively allows the Government to call in almost anything for reasons of 'national security'. There is a legitimate threat from China which has a strategy of buying up economic assets. The NSIA deals with this. As investment minister under the last government, I saw the need to balance national security with the need for investment capital. Yes, we need protections from undue influence, but I would ask everyone reading this to think about how we can actually make our markets more open, more flexible and easier to access. I would ask you to consider how we can grow our media sector, rather than create hurdles to its expansion. Most importantly, we must consider how we can create a powerful new online sector which can rival other nations so that we can profit from this new era of oracy and continue to dominate the culture of the world for our benefit. I look forward to the future of The Telegraph as much as I celebrate its past.
News24
6 days ago
- Business
- News24
SA media shakeup: Looser ownership rules, but Netflix, YouTube face clampdown
Government wants to loosen the foreign ownership limit imposed on broadcasters as part of a media policy overhaul.
