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Daily Mail owner DMGT has struck a £500mn deal to buy rival newspaper The Telegraph in a tie-up that would create one of the most powerful right-leaning media groups in Britain.
The agreed takeover comes barely a week after RedBird Capital, the US private equity group led by former Goldman Sachs banker Gerry Cardinale, abruptly halted its own attempt to buy the 170-year-old newspaper.
RedBird, which had stepped in to buy the newspaper after an earlier deal with its Abu Dhabi partner collapsed, walked away last week after the UK government failed to give a clear timetable for the transaction to close successfully.
Lord Rothermere, who owns Daily Mail and General Trust, has long wanted to buy the Telegraph Media Group in a bid to bring together two of the UK’s leading rightwing newspapers. The group also owns the Metro and i newspapers, and is expected to maintain separate editorial teams.
The deal has been struck at about £500mn, according to people close to the talks, which would repay the money spent by the RedBird-fronted consortium for the newspaper. The parties have entered a period of exclusivity to finalise the terms of the transaction.
A merger of the Daily Mail and the Telegraph would redraw the traditional lines of Britain’s Fleet Street, creating one of the largest UK media groups and a dominant voice in rightwing politics at a time when the Reform party is growing in popularity against the leftwing Labour government.
Any deal will face questions over competition and media plurality, given it would further consolidate ownership of Britain’s national newspapers under a single proprietor. Officials have already subjected the battle for the Telegraph to months of scrutiny, contributing to a two-year leadership vacuum at the title.
The hope among people close to the talks is that ministers will see value in ending the uncertainty and restoring a stable owner to one of the country’s most influential newspapers.
The merger will be scrutinised closely by the UK’s regulatory bodies, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and Ofcom, with competition concerns likely over market share in circulation and advertising. Analysts suggest that the Metro and i could be offered for sale to address some of these concerns.
Ministers will also be under pressure to enforce media plurality, with the government able to step in to ensure a wide range of news sources and opinions in the newspaper market.
The prospect that the “Torygraph” — as it has been dubbed — could soon be in the hands of owners of its closest rival could also spark concern among members of the Labour party, which has been fiercely attacked by both titles since winning the election last year.
Rothermere had been one of the bidders in the original auction of the newspaper after Lloyds Banking Group seized control of the Telegraph in 2023 from the Barclay family.
DMGT had been in talks with a Qatari investment group in 2023, but people close to the deal say that no Middle Eastern cash would be involved in this transaction.
UK politicians have changed the law so that only a 15 per cent stake can be taken by a sovereign wealth fund after worries emerged about RedBird’s partner, Abu Dhabi’s IMI, being too influential as an owner.
The deal would be a major coup for Lord Rothermere, the aristocratic owner and chair of DMGT, who inherited the position at the age of 30 on the death of his father in 1998. His great-grandfather, Harold Sidney Harmsworth, set up the Daily Mail in 1896.