Ofcom’s handling of, and ultimate decision, on the probe, will be more than a single change of ownership. It will be a test serve as a test of how seriously the UK treats media plurality.
So, Lisa Nandy has “paved the way for the Telegraph sale,” headlined the Telegraph this week, having given permission for the Daily Mail owner Lord Rothermere to take a crucial step towards his planned £500m takeover of the newspaper.
In a letter to RedBird IMI, the UAE-backed venture which has held the option to acquire the Telegraph for more than two years, the culture secretary released legal restrictions on an onward sale. It means that DMGT, Lord Rothermere’s holding company, is now able to pay the agreed price and take ownership of the option.
But, as the Telegraph reports, “It is not clear when money will change hands to lock in the deal.”
If anyone believed the long-running saga over the future of the Telegraph titles was finally over, they may need to think again.
Last week, the deal looked like it might be on the rocks, after Nandy referred it to Ofcom and the and the Competition and Markets Authority over concerns that it threatens the plurality of views in the press and hands Lord Rothermere too much sway. At last, the government finally acknowledged that the Daily Mail’s proposed takeover of the Telegraph could pose serious risks to media plurality in the UK.
Since 2023, the Telegraph has operated without a stable long-term owner. The latest proposed buyer, the Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT), appeared poised to consolidate Britain’s right-right press even further. Now, however, the government has stepped in.
The proposed £500 million deal would bring the Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph under the same umbrella as the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, Metro, and the i Paper.
DMGT already controls 50.62% of Britain’s daily national newspaper circulation. The Daily Telegraph accounts for a further 5.52%. If approved, the acquisition would raise DMGT’s combined share to 56.14%, meaning that well over half of the country’s daily newspaper circulation would sit within a single media group. In a market already dominated by right-wing outlets, there are obvious concerns about such a merger.
Last week, Nandy ordered a formal regulatory investigation into DMGT’s proposed acquisition of the Telegraph Media Group. She issued a public interest intervention notice, citing concerns that the deal could affect the “plurality of views” in British media.
In her statement, Nandy noted that the acquisition would give DMGT the ability to align the editorial positions of the Mail titles with those of the Telegraph. Even if the company maintains that it has no intention of merging editorial lines, the mere capacity to do so, particularly within publications that already occupy broadly similar political territory, warrants scrutiny.
Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority will assess whether the takeover could undermine competition or reduce the diversity of viewpoints available to the public. These bodies are tasked not only with examining market share, but also with considering the broader democratic implications of media ownership concentration.
DMGT has said it remains committed to investing in the Telegraph and preserving its editorial independence.
The investigation marks the latest chapter in a drawn-out ownership saga. The Telegraph Media Group was put up for sale in 2023 after failure of the then owners, the Barclay family, to repay debts of £1.15bn to Lloyds Banking Group. Later that year, a consortium backed by the Abu Dhabi ruling family sought to acquire the group, but the bid collapsed amid political and regulatory concerns over foreign state involvement in a major British newspaper. Several subsequent attempts to secure a buyer have also fallen through. DMGT’s bid, agreed in November last year, had seemed to offer resolution, until the government intervened.
Ofcom’s handling of, and ultimate decision, on this probe, will be more than a single change of ownership. It will be a test serve as a test of how seriously the UK treats media plurality. Watch this space.
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