The Daily Telegraph has been put back on the market after an Abu Dhabi-backed fund withdrew from a proposed takeover which was blocked by the Government.
RedBird IMI reached a deal last year with previous Telegraph owners the Barclay family to take control of the newspaper group – and fellow publication The Spectator – by paying off debts owed to their bank, Lloyds.
However, last month the Government said it would bring forward an amendment to the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill that would block such state-backed takeover deals in the industry.
Telegraph Media Group (TMG) was taken over by Lloyds Bank in June after the family failed to repay £1.16bn in debts.
Lloyds triggered an auction for the titles, which was later paused following the RedBird IMI offer. Other bidders had included hedge-fund tycoon and GB News owner Paul Marshall, and Daily Mail owner DMGT.
Mr Marshall announced he is stepping down from the board of GB News last week, in a move which sparked speculation he hopes to smooth the path towards ownership of the Telegraph.
The move could help his bid to stay within media plurality restrictions – a media consultant told i: “Given GB News’ run-ins with Ofcom it will also help with the regulatory provision for the owners to guarantee ‘accurate news’ at the Telegraph.”
A bid for The Spectator could cost Mr Murdoch’s News UK £90 million.
Mr Murdoch is said to be concerned that the Government’s proposal to cap stakes held in newspapers by foreign states at five percent could hit his business, which has previously received Saudi investment.
Ministers are believed to be considering variations to the stake limit.
A senior News UK senior source confirmed to i there is indeed interest in buying The Spectator.
Other bidders for the Telegraph could include Mediahuis, a European media investment firm, the National World newspaper group and German news publisher Axel Springer.
A RedBird IMI spokesman said: “RedBird IMI has today confirmed that it intends to withdraw from its proposed acquisition of the Telegraph Media Group and proceed with a sale.
“We continue to believe this approach would have benefited the Telegraph and Spectator’s readers, their journalists and the UK media landscape more widely.
“Regrettably, it is clear this approach is no longer feasible.”
Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer said: “The parties have signalled their intention to withdraw from the deal.
“Throughout this process I have raised concerns about the potential impact of this deal on free expression and accurate presentation of news, and I took steps to ensure that media freedom was protected while there was an investigation into those concerns.
“I will now allow the parties to conduct an orderly transition and I will monitor the outcome with a view to taking any further regulatory action as required under the Enterprise Act.
“The free press is a cornerstone of our democracy and we cannot take it for granted. That is why I used my powers as Culture Secretary to investigate this deal.
“More widely, it is why we are banning any ownership, influence or control by foreign states of our newspapers and news magazines.
“We are acting to ensure that we retain the ability to step in where necessary to protect the integrity and independence of these publications, given the unique role they play in our democracy.”
- i is owned by Harmsworth Media, a publishing division of DMGT that also contains New Scientist magazine, and has complete editorial independence.
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