The parties have entered a period of exclusivity to finalise the terms of the transaction, and to prepare the necessary regulatory submissions, which they say they expect to happen quickly.
DMGT believes that the proposed acquisition would give much-needed certainty and confidence to TMG’s employees, and ensure that the Daily Telegraph’s journalism can flourish long into the future and on the world stage.
The Daily Telegraph would join DMGT’s stable of independent and diverse media brands, including the Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday, Metro, The i Paper, and New Scientist. TMG would benefit from DMGT’s resources and experience in transforming media brands in a digital world, and growing British brands into global news operations, added the publisher.
For more than 100 years, DMGT says it has prided itself on being a responsible custodian of media assets, which it holds for the long term. The company plans to invest substantially in TMG with the aim of accelerating its international expansion. It will focus particularly on the USA, where the Daily Mail is already successful, with established editorial and commercial operations.
DMGT places great emphasis on the editorial independence of its titles, the publisher continued, and The Daily Telegraph would remain editorially independent from other titles in the group.
The transaction would comply with the UK’s Foreign State Influence regime as there will be no foreign state investment or capital in the funding structure.
DMGT is confident any regulatory processes can be concluded swiftly and positively, as the case for approving the acquisition is compelling.
Today’s media landscape is unrecognisable from a decade ago. News publishers have to compete against both vast global online platforms and myriad digital and social media news sources, some of them highly unreliable.
The role of trusted news media has never been more important, and requires news publishers with scale and experience to compete.
Lord Rothermere, chairman, DMGT, said: “I have long admired the Daily Telegraph. My family and I have an enduring love of newspapers and for the journalists who make them. The Daily Telegraph is Britain’s largest and best quality broadsheet newspaper, and I have grown up respecting it. It has a remarkable history and has played a vital role in shaping Britain’s national debate over many decades.
“Chris Evans is an excellent editor, and we intend to give him the resources to invest in the newsroom. Under our ownership, the Daily Telegraph will become a global brand, just as the Daily Mail has.”
A spokesman for RedBird IMI said on Saturday: “DMGT and RedBird IMI have worked swiftly to reach the agreement announced today, which will shortly be submitted to the Secretary of State.”
Keep up-to-date with publishing news: sign up here for InPubWeekly, our free weekly e-newsletter.
