UK: Telegraph Back Up for Sale After Government Blocks UAE-Backed Takeover
UK: Telegraph Back Up for Sale After Government Blocks UAE-Backed Takeover
The Facts
The British government on Tuesday gave the green light for the re-sale of the Daily Telegraph, the Sunday Telegraph and the Spectator Magazine after blocking an acquisition of the titles by an investment firm with ties to the royal family of the United Arab Emirates.
RedBird IMI — a partnership between Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the UAE’s vice-president, and the US investment firm RedBird Capital Partners — effectively took ownership of the Telegraph titles in December after settling a £600M ($749M) debt by the previous owners in return for the acquisition.The UK Government on has permitted re-sale of the Daily Telegraph, the Sunday Telegraph, and the Spectator Magazine after blocking an acquisition of the media outlets by an investment firm with ties to the royal family of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The Spin
The proposed RedBird IMI acquisition of the Telegraph titles forced the BritishUK governmentGovernment and public to think about howthe muchextent ofto itswhich national infrastructure — including its newspapers — should be in the hands of foreign governments. On reflection, it was decided that having one the country's biggest titles under the control of a dictatorship, which has its own press freedom concerns, isn't the best idea.
While there are legitimate press freedom concerns about a UAE-backed investment fund owning a major British newspaper title, most of the discussion reeks of self-interest and hypocrisy. The UAE backers are in large part more respectable than othermany UK newspaper owners in the UK and their deep pockets would likely make the Telegraph titles thrive again. ThisCommotion wouldby makecompetitors itover athe competitorsale andcan thiseasily isbe whyreduced it'sto beingfears opposedover bythe manymedia group’s revival.
