AC Milan’s owners RedBird Capital are expanding their media empire as they have led a consortium that has bought The Telegraph.
As The Guardian report, a group led by the US private equity company RedBird have agreed to buy the Telegraph for £500m. Gerry Cardinale has ‘signed a deal in principle’ that will result in the Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph coming under the ownership of a consortium.
He also gave a comment regarding the purchase: “This transaction marks the start of a new era for the Telegraph as we look to grow the brand in the UK and internationally, invest in its technology and expand its subscriber base.
“We believe the UK is a great place to invest [and] we have tremendous conviction in the growth potential of this incredibly important cultural institution.”
There are British investors involved in the takeover, while the report mentions that RedBird have been ‘in talks with potential investors’ including Lord Rothermere’s DMGT – the owner of the Daily Mail, Metro and New Scientist – about taking a stake of 9.9%.
RedBird Capital are buying Telegraph Media Group from RedBird IMI. The US private equity group contributed a quarter of the funding to RedBird IMI, which is controlled by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the vice-president of the United Arab Emirates and the owner of Manchester City.
The British government passed a law blocking foreign states or associated individuals from owning newspaper assets in the UK last Spring and thus they were forced to look to sell their stake in the company.
IMI are to ‘retain an investment in The Telegraph’ but – as per the government’s most recent update last week – the maximum stake they are able to own is 15% in British newspapers.
The news comes at a time when there is great uncertainty surrounding one of RedBird’s other assets, AC Milan. There are more protests planned about the running of the club, and a worsening financial situation due to poor on-field reports.
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