Latest news with #newspaperownership
The Independent
02-07-2025
- Business
- The Independent
MPs back foreign investors owning minority stakes in UK newspapers
Foreign investors have stepped closer to buying part of the Telegraph, as MPs backed relaxed laws on foreign ownership of UK newspapers that will allow them to own up to 15%. The Commons voted overwhelmingly in favour of a change to the law by Labour which would allow foreign firms to buy minority stakes. It is the latest turn in a tumultuous two-year takeover process for the 170-year-old newspaper business. It comes after the previous Conservative government put a block in place amid fears the Telegraph could be bought by a majority-owned UAE company, Redbird IMI. The investment vehicle is a joint venture with US financiers. The regulation was approved by 338 votes to 79, majority 259. Labour was boosted in the voting lobbies by four Reform UK MPs, including its leader Nigel Farage (Clacton), and seven Independent MPs. Meanwhile former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, a vocal critic of China, was among those to vote against it. The Liberal Democrats, who forced the vote over fears foreign ownership would compromise editorial independence, also opposed it. The result will give the green light to Redbird IMI, with the cap in place now being supported by MPs. RedBird Capital, the US junior partner in RedBird IMI, agreed a deal in May to buy a majority stake in the newspaper for £500 million. Abu-Dhabi's IMI will look to buy a minority stake as part of the consortium. RedBird has investments in AC Milan, film production giant Skydance and Liverpool FC owner Fenway Sports Group. It is also understood that the Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) – which owns the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, the i, and the Metro – is also looking to buy a stake. This is in addition to Sir Len Blavatnik, who owns the Theatre Royal Haymarket in the West End, who is considering a minority stake, according to Sky News reports. The rules were introduced after Redbird IMI looked to buy the Telegraph Media Group (TMG) from the Barclay Brothers. Then-Conservative culture secretary Lucy Frazer told a Society of Editors Conference in April 2024: 'I had concerns about the potential impacts of this deal on free expression and accurate presentation of news and that's why I issued a public interest intervention.' Culture minister Stephanie Peacock told MPs last month that appropriate safeguards had been introduced. She said: 'Government need to balance the importance of creating certainty and sustainability for our newspaper industry with the need to protect against the risk of foreign state influence by setting a clear threshold for exceptions within the regime at 15%. We believe that we have done that effectively.'
Arab News
15-05-2025
- Business
- Arab News
UK to allow foreign states to own a 15 percent stake in newspapers
LONDON: Britain plans to allow foreign state-owned investors to own up to 15 percent of British newspaper publishers, the government said on Thursday, as part of media reforms that could end long-running uncertainty over ownership of the Telegraph newspaper. The government will also expand its powers to scrutinize media mergers to include news websites and news magazines. 'These important, modernizing reforms are about protecting media plurality and reflect the changing ways in which people are consuming news,' Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said. 'We are fully upholding the need to safeguard our news media from foreign state control whilst recognizing that news organizations must be able to raise vital funding.' The ownership of the Telegraph, one of Britain's best known newspapers, has raised questions about the independence of the media and foreign states buying political influence. The government said 'targeted exceptions' allowing certain sovereign wealth funds or pension funds to invest up to 15 percent in British newspaper and periodicals would help sustain the titles while also limiting any foreign influence in media. The government does not plan to exempt debt financing, but warned that if a foreign power gains control through a default, it could trigger a ministerial intervention under existing rules. Britain's previous Conservative government last year banned foreign state investment in British newspapers, blocking RedBird IMI, run by former CNN boss Jeff Zucker and with the majority of its funding from Abu Dhabi, from owning the Telegraph. Abu Dhabi-backed RedBird IMI took control of the Telegraph titles and the Spectator magazine in 2023 when it helped repay the Barclay family's 1.2 billion pound ($1.6 billion) debt to Lloyds Bank. It put the titles up for sale nearly a year ago. The Spectator was sold to hedge fund founder Paul Marshall in September, but the Telegraph has not found a buyer. The 15 percent cap would allow Abu Dhabi to retain some ownership of the paper.
Sky News
14-05-2025
- Business
- Sky News
Foreign states face 15% newspaper ownership limit amid Telegraph row
Foreign state investors would be allowed to hold stakes of up to 15% in British national newspapers, ministers are set to announce amid a two-year battle to resolve an impasse over The Daily Telegraph's ownership. Sky News has learnt that the Department for Culture, Media and Sport could announce as soon as Thursday that the new limit is to be imposed following a consultation lasting several months. The decision to set the ownership threshold at 15% follows an intensive lobbying campaign by newspaper industry executives concerned that a permanent outright ban could cut off a vital source of funding to an already-embattled industry. It would mean that RedBird IMI, the Abu Dhabi state-backed fund which owns an option to take full ownership of the Telegraph titles, would be able to play a role in the newspapers' future. RedBird Capital, the US-based fund, has already said it is exploring the possibility of taking full control of the Telegraph, while IMI would have - if the status quo had been maintained - forced to relinquish any involvement in the right-leaning broadsheets. One industry source said they had been told to expect a statement from Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, or another DCMS minister, this week, with the amendment potentially being made in the form of a statutory instrument. Other than RedBird, a number of suitors for the Telegraph have expressed interest but struggled to raise the funding for a deal. The most notable of these has been Dovid Efune, owner of The New York Sun, who has been trying for months to raise the £550m sought by RedBird IMI to recoup its outlay. Another potential offer from Todd Boehly, the Chelsea Football Club co-owner, and media tycoon David Montgomery, has yet to materialise. RedBird IMI paid £600m in 2023 to acquire a call option that was intended to convert into ownership of the Telegraph newspapers and The Spectator magazine. That objective was thwarted by a change in media ownership laws - which banned any form of foreign state ownership - amid an outcry from parliamentarians. The Spectator was then sold last year for £100m to Sir Paul Marshall, the hedge fund billionaire, who has installed Lord Gove, the former cabinet minister, as its editor. The UAE-based IMI, which is controlled by the UAE's deputy prime minister and ultimate owner of Manchester City Football Club, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, extended a further £600m to the Barclays to pay off a loan owed to Lloyds Banking Group, with the balance secured against other family-controlled assets. Other bidders for the Telegraph had included Lord Saatchi, the former advertising mogul, who offered £350m, while Lord Rothermere, the Daily Mail proprietor, pulled out of the bidding last summer amid concerns that he would be blocked on competition grounds. The Telegraph's ownership had been left in limbo by a decision taken by Lloyds Banking Group, the principal lender to the Barclay family, to force some of the newspapers' related corporate entities into a form of insolvency proceedings. The newspaper auction is being run by Raine Group and Robey Warshaw.
