Murdoch’s News Corp. Eyes Joint Bid For The U-K Telegraph

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. and the owner of the Daily Mail have held talks about a potential joint takeover of the Telegraph — one of the UK’s most famous newspapers — alongside the UAE-backed investment fund RedBird IMI, people familiar with the matter said.

Bloomberg reports a joint bid by the three would result in a smaller stake for Redbird IMI, which may ease concerns by British politicians over foreign state control of a legacy media outlet, said the people, 
who asked not to be identified discussing private talks. Representatives from the Daily Mail and General Trust — owner of the Daily Mail newspaper controlled by Jonathan Harmsworth — and News Corp.’s News UK unit have held back-channel conversations on how to form such a joint structure, they said.

The fate of the Telegraph’s ownership has been up in the air for months. RedBird IMI — a joint venture between a New York investment firm and a UAE-backed media investment vehicle — had agreed last year to provide loans of about $750 million to gain control of the Telegraph from the Barclay family. (The paper was seized from the family after they fell behind on debt payments.) But some UK lawmakers have raised concerns about foreign control of the outlet, UK probes have stalled the deal and meanwhile rival bidders have continued to circle.

Redbird IMI, fronted by former CNN chief Jeff Zucker, has been approached by a number of parties interested in teaming up, but it’s still focused on buying the paper outright, one of the people familiar with the talks said. A fourth rival bidder, hedge fund manager Paul Marshall — the co-founder of Marshall Wace — may be excluded from the joint proposal, the people said. Marshall declined to comment.

The conversations began when RedBird IMI’s takeover of the Telegraph and Spectator publications came under fire by lawmakers in the UK’s governing Conservative Party, people familiar with the situation said. Sheikh Mansour, the deputy prime minister of the UAE, owns the majority of Redbird IMI, sparking concerns from ministers in Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s cabinet about foreign state ownership, Bloomberg previously reported.