London (AFP) – German media group Axel Springer said Friday it had agreed to buy right-wing British newspaper The Telegraph in a surprise move, as the UK government investigates a rival bid. The German group, which already owns tabloid Bild, the Welt broadsheet, and Politico news outlet, said in a statement it would pay £575 million ($766 million) in cash for the title, which comprises daily print and online versions. It follows a drawn-out pursuit of the 170-year-old title.
Britain’s government last month launched an investigation into an agreed sale to the owner of the Daily Mail, a rival right-wing publication, citing competition concerns. The Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) had struck a £500-million deal with US-Emirati consortium RedBird IMI in November for the purchase. However, the paper now looks likely to come under German ownership, with Axel Springer vowing to “preserve the integrity of a heritage media brand,” while giving it a platform for growth and expansion. “To be the owner of this institution of quality British journalism is a privilege and a duty,” said Axel Springer chief executive Mathias Doepfner. The group wanted to help the newspaper “become the most read and intellectually inspiring centre-right media outlet in the English-speaking world,” he added.
DMGT confirmed that RedBird IMI had agreed to the potential takeover by Axel Springer. “We wish every success to Axel Springer and the Telegraph,” a DMGT spokesperson said, adding that it believed “the organisation would have thrived under our long-term stewardship.” The publisher warned that the “protracted and out-of-date regulatory framework guarantees that UK-based national newspaper groups are at a huge competitive disadvantage in any merger process.” The Telegraph did not immediately respond to AFP’s request for comment.
“This is unprecedented in the British press scene,” Damian Tambini, a senior media lecturer at the London School of Economics, told AFP. “Many people will be breathing a sigh of relief and particularly the (Labour) government,” amid the prospect of an enlarged British right-wing media group, he added. RedBird IMI, a joint venture between US investment firm RedBird Capital and Abu Dhabi’s International Media Investments, had struck a deal for the Telegraph Media Group in late 2023. However, the previous UK government triggered a swift resale given concern about the potential impact on freedom of speech owing to Abu Dhabi’s press censorship record.
That government also amended merger laws to bar foreign governments from controlling UK newspapers. RedBird then pursued the takeover under a revised structure, but abruptly dropped its bid in late 2025. To further complicate matters, the current government in February issued a Public Interest Intervention Notice in relation to the planned takeover by DMGT. “We are aware that the amazing journalists and employees at…(The Telegraph) have been operating in an extended period of uncertainty,” Doepfner said on Friday. “We want to bring that uncertainty to an end as soon as we can.” Axel Springer has announced job cuts in recent years, pointing in part to the role of artificial intelligence in rendering certain roles such as proofreading obsolete.
© 2024 AFP
