US-based private equity firm RedBird Capital has agreed a deal to buy the Telegraph Media Group, which has previously been valued in the region of £500 million.
Having first been put up for sale in mid-2023, the media company was initially bought by RedBird Capital’s subsidiary RedBird IMI in November of that year.
RedBird was then forced to put the group back up for sale in 2024 after the government blocked foreign states or associated individuals from owning newspaper assets in the UK. RedBird IMI is co-owned by the UAE’s vice-president, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
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The firm’s founder and managing partner, Gerry Cardinale has now agreed a deal to bring the Daily Telegraph and the Sunday Telegraph under RedBird ownership after buying the stake owned by Sheikh Mansour.
The deal will be subject to regulatory approval, which will include a public interest test, set to be triggered by culture secretary Lisa Nandy, as well as an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
According to the BBC, Cardinale has revealed that he plans to “to expand the Telegraph’s reach and subscriber base in the US, believing there to be a gap in the market”.
