Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (): I wish to update the House on
the sale of the Telegraph Media Group, following the recent
withdrawal of the Redbird Capital Partners-led bid to acquire the
title, and the news announced on Saturday 22 November that
RedBird IMI has signed an agreement with DMGT, entering into a
period of exclusivity to finalise the terms of the transaction.
The Telegraph has been in limbo for a long time. Until now, I
have sought to afford the parties selling the call option to own
the Telegraph sufficient time to independently manage the
process. 19 months have passed since RedBird IMI announced their
intention to sell. A sale has still not happened and the
situation has become unsustainable. My particular concerns are
that the protracted uncertainty has been detrimental to the
stability of the Telegraph and its staff and to the investment
appeal of the sector as a whole.
Under the terms of the Order made in January 2024, transfer of
the ownership of the Telegraph Media Group is only permitted with
the prior written consent of the Secretary of State. RedBird IMI
and DMGT have said they will use their exclusivity period to
prepare the necessary request for securing that consent, which
they say they expect to happen quickly. Given how much time has
already elapsed in this case and the need for the period of
uncertainty to be ended, I expect the submission of that request
to take no longer than three weeks. My intention is to build a
constructive path toward a timely sale, without further delay,
that is in the public interest. In this context I will review any
new acquisition of the Telegraph, guided by the following
principles in the exercise of my powers:
-
Upholding the Public Interest: The media public interest
considerations set out in the Enterprise Act 2002 must be
properly investigated and appropriately upheld under any new
ownership of the Telegraph Media Group.
-
Exclusion of Foreign State Funding: Any future owner of the
Telegraph Media Group, and their controlling entities, must
be completely free from any prohibited foreign state
influence.
-
Protecting the Telegraph: Until the future ownership of the
Telegraph Media Group is resolved and any regulatory scrutiny
is completed, the editorial independence of the Telegraph
business must be suitably protected.
I reserve my right to intervene under my powers and duties as set
out in the Enterprise Act 2002. I will continue to monitor
developments very closely and will update Parliament on this
matter as appropriate at the earliest opportunity.
