Leading German group backs bid for Telegraph Media Group
A leading German media group has backed a £500m bid for the Telegraph Media Group, which could rival the deal struck by the owner of the Daily Mail to acquire the UK titles.
Axel Springer, which owns brand including Politico and Business Insider, said it would support a consortium of bidders led by Dovid Efune, a Manchester-born entrepreneur who had prior been in the running for the Telegraph.
According to reports in The Times, the new bidders sent a letter to Redbird IMI, which is selling the Telegraph, outlining the terms of a proposed deal.
The deal is reportedly said to be superior to that agreed with Daily Mail and General Trust (DGMT), the Daily Mail owner, according to the Financial Times.
A spokesman for Axel Springer told The Times: “We confirm our participation in this bid.” No futher details were provided.
CityAM has contacted Axel Springer for comment.
Selling the Telegraph
DMGT agreed a £500m deal for the Telegraph in November last year, but confirmed this month that regulators would examine the proposed takeover.
Regulators stepped in after culture minister Lisa Nandy confirmed she would intervene in the deal.
Nandy said that she had issued a public interest intervention notice because of concerns that the acquisition warranted investigation on public interest and competition grounds.
The decision sends the deal both to the media regulator Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority, who must report back to Nandy by June 10.
But scrutiny from regulators has resulted in further uncertainty for the broadsheet, which has found itself in limbo since Redbird IMI tried to buy the newspapers in 2023.
It is a vehicle owned by IMI, an Abu Dhabi fund and Redbird Capital, a US private equity firm.
Blocked deal
The deal was ultimately blocked by the government, over fears of foreign state influence of a British newspaper, leading Redbird to seek approval under a revised structure that would cap IMI’s involvement at 15 per cent.
It later withdrew its bid in November, and in December asked Nandy to transfer its interest in the newspapers to DGMT.
The proposed acquisition by DMGT would bring The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph under the same umbrella as the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday, Metro and The i Paper.
DMGT has said the Telegraph would remain editorially independent.