I wish to update the House on the sale of the Telegraph Media Group, following the recent withdrawal of the RedBird Capital Partners-led bid to acquire the title, and the news announced on Saturday 22 November that RedBird IMI has signed an agreement with Daily Mail and General Trust, entering into a period of exclusivity to finalise the terms of the transaction.
The Telegraph has been in limbo for a long time. Until now, I have sought to afford the parties selling the call option to own The Telegraph sufficient time to independently manage the process. The 19 months have passed since RedBird IMI announced its intention to sell. A sale has still not happened and the situation has become unsustainable. My particular concerns are that the protracted uncertainty has been detrimental to the stability of The Telegraph and its staff and to the investment appeal of the sector as a whole.
Under the terms of the order made in January 2024, transfer of the ownership of the Telegraph Media Group is only permitted with the prior written consent of the Secretary of State. RedBird IMI and DMGT have said they will use their exclusivity period to prepare the necessary request for securing that consent, which they say they expect to happen quickly. Given how much time has already elapsed in this case and the need for the period of uncertainty to be ended, I expect the submission of that request to take no longer than three weeks. My intention is to build a constructive path toward a timely sale, without further delay, that is in the public interest. In this context I will review any new acquisition of the Telegraph, guided by the following principles in the exercise of my powers:
Upholding the public interest: the media public interest considerations set out in the Enterprise Act 2002 must be properly investigated and appropriately upheld under any new ownership of the Telegraph Media Group.
Exclusion of foreign state funding: any future owner of the Telegraph Media Group, and their controlling entities, must be completely free from any prohibited foreign state influence.
Protecting The Telegraph: until the future ownership of the Telegraph Media Group is resolved and any regulatory scrutiny is completed, the editorial independence of The Telegraph business must be suitably protected.
I reserve my right to intervene under my powers and duties as set out in the Enterprise Act 2002.
I will continue to monitor developments very closely and will update Parliament on this matter as appropriate at the earliest opportunity.
[HCWS1090]