The putative owners of The Daily Telegraph will take another step towards gaining control of the right-wing newspaper in the coming days when they formally notify Whitehall of their plans.
Sky News has learnt that lawyers acting for RedBird Capital Partners, the US-based investor which will own a majority stake in the publisher if the deal is approved, could set out the company’s proposals in a filing with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) as soon as this week.
The move would represent another step towards concluding the 27-month hiatus over the Telegraph’s ownership – a period which began with Lloyds Banking Group forcing the newspaper’s parent company into insolvency proceedings over outstanding loans owed by the Barclay family.
Sources said that the notification by RedBird Capital’s lawyers would pave the way for the lifting of an interim enforcement order (IEO) imposed by Lucy Frazer, the then Conservative culture secretary, in December 2023, which prevented the acquirers from exerting any control over the Telegraph.
The removal of the IEO is likely to result in the DCMS issuing a new public interest intervention notice (PIIN), which would prompt investigations by Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority into the £500m takeover.
Last month, the House of Lords approved legislation to allow a UAE state-backed investor – IMI – to acquire a stake of up to 15% in the Telegraph as part of the RedBird deal.
The takeover had originally been conceived as a joint endeavour between RedBird and IMI but was thwarted by political opposition to foreign state ownership of national newspapers.
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IMI is controlled by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the vice-president of the United Arab Emirates and ultimate owner of Manchester City Football Club.
Other bidders tried to gatecrash the deal, with the field of rival contenders led by Dovid Efune, the owner of The New York Sun.
Last month, his key backer – the hedge fund founder Jeremy Hosking – told Sky News their bid was “ready to go” if the RedBird-led transaction fell apart.
Announcing its agreement to acquire the Daily and Sunday Telegraph titles in May, Gerry Cardinale, founder of RedBird Capital, said it marked the “start of a new era” for two of Britain’s most prominent newspapers.
However, it is nearly a month since the Lords voted to approve the legislation allowing IMI to own a minority stake, a verdict which prompted Mr Cardinale to say: “With legislation now in place, we will move quickly and in the forthcoming days work with DCMS to progress to completion and implement new ownership for The Telegraph.”
Sources said the formal notification to Whitehall could come as soon as this week but could yet be delayed further.
Senior Telegraph executives and journalists are said to be frustrated at the latest phase of the process.
Sky News has already revealed that Sir Leonard Blavatnik, owner of the DAZN sports streaming platform, and Daily Mail proprietor Lord Rothermere are preparing to buy minority stakes as part of the RedBird-led transaction.
RedBird said in May that it was “in discussions with select UK-based minority investors with print media expertise and strong commitment to upholding the editorial values of the Telegraph”.
The Telegraph titles’ parent company was forced into insolvency proceedings in 2023 by Lloyds, which ran out of patience with the Barclay family, their long-standing owner.
RedBird IMI, a joint venture between the two firms, paid £600m several months later to acquire a call option that was intended to convert into ownership of the Telegraph newspapers and The Spectator magazine.
The Spectator was 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.
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None of the parties involved in the Telegraph ownership situation
