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Who owns The Telegraph, one of the UK’s most famous newspapers, is the subject of a bitter fight. The answer may not be clear for months. This limbo is not how any of the parties wanted it to be. The Barclay family want to keep the conservative paper and sister titles they’ve owned for 19 years; their lender, Lloyds Banking Group Plc, seized them in June over $1.5 billion (£1.2 billion) of unpaid debts but wants a smooth and low-key sale; rivals including hedge fund moguls Paul Marshall and Ken Griffin, plus British media baron Jonathan Harmsworth, are also vying for control.
An auction for the paper along with the Sunday Telegraph and the Spectator magazine was suspended this week as the Barclays attempt to regain the assets with Middle Eastern financial backing – though the British government has warned it may weigh in on this bid.
The most recent owners are offering to repay their debt to Lloyds using money from investors including Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family and owner of Manchester City football club in the UK. About £600 million would be secured against the media titles, whose ownership would then transfer to Redbird IMI, a media investment vehicle backed by Sheikh Mansour’s International Media Investments and headed by former CNN boss Jeff Zucker. The remaining £600 million would refinance the Barclays’s other assets, including the online retailer Very Group.
Lucy Frazer, the culture secretary, has highlighted the potential risks to media freedom from a sale and said this week she may issue a Public Interest Intervention Notice, triggering more scrutiny from regulators. Other members of the government, including business secretary Kemi Badenoch and security minister Tom Tugendhat, have raised worries about the potential foreign ownership of the politically influential titles. While concerns about the Telegraph being controlled by a foreign state with questionable human rights record may be genuine, ministers and lawmakers are also determined to keep the editorial line of the paper favourable to their party.
The Telegraph has been through several changes of ownership since its founding in 1855, though its links to the British establishment and particularly the Conservative party are long entrenched – earning it the nickname of the Torygraph. “Whoever is given the house Bible of the Conservative party will have a big say in who the next leader of the party might be,” said Jane Martinson, a lecturer at City, University of London and author of a book about the Barclay family.
Many Tories know and like rival bidders Marshall and Harmsworth, agree with their politics, and would like to see the titles end up in their hands. Zucker and Mansour are less predictable.
An auction for the paper along with the Sunday Telegraph and the Spectator magazine was suspended this week as the Barclays attempt to regain the assets with Middle Eastern financial backing – though the British government has warned it may weigh in on this bid.
The most recent owners are offering to repay their debt to Lloyds using money from investors including Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family and owner of Manchester City football club in the UK. About £600 million would be secured against the media titles, whose ownership would then transfer to Redbird IMI, a media investment vehicle backed by Sheikh Mansour’s International Media Investments and headed by former CNN boss Jeff Zucker. The remaining £600 million would refinance the Barclays’s other assets, including the online retailer Very Group.
Lucy Frazer, the culture secretary, has highlighted the potential risks to media freedom from a sale and said this week she may issue a Public Interest Intervention Notice, triggering more scrutiny from regulators. Other members of the government, including business secretary Kemi Badenoch and security minister Tom Tugendhat, have raised worries about the potential foreign ownership of the politically influential titles. While concerns about the Telegraph being controlled by a foreign state with questionable human rights record may be genuine, ministers and lawmakers are also determined to keep the editorial line of the paper favourable to their party.
The Telegraph has been through several changes of ownership since its founding in 1855, though its links to the British establishment and particularly the Conservative party are long entrenched – earning it the nickname of the Torygraph. “Whoever is given the house Bible of the Conservative party will have a big say in who the next leader of the party might be,” said Jane Martinson, a lecturer at City, University of London and author of a book about the Barclay family.
Many Tories know and like rival bidders Marshall and Harmsworth, agree with their politics, and would like to see the titles end up in their hands. Zucker and Mansour are less predictable.
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