Telegraph bidders submit key plans to government - report
By Abigail Townsend
Date: Wednesday 03 Sep 2025
(Sharecast News) - The long-running sale of The Daily Telegraph has edged closer to a conclusion, it was reported on Wednesday, after RedBird Capital submitted key plans to the UK government.
According to Sky News, the US investment group - which will become majority owner should the deal go ahead - has submitted detailed proposals to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
Culture secretary Lisa Nandy must now decide whether to issue a fresh public interest intervention notice or not.
She is also expected to lift a previous interim enforcement order (IEO) imposed by Conservative culture secretary Lucy Frazer in December 2023, Sky News noted.
The IEO prevented any acquirers of the newspaper exerting control over the title.
Citing unnamed insiders, Sky News said that the removal of the IEO would likely result in a new intervention notice being issued, which in turn would prompt investigations by both media regulator Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority.
The Daily Telegraph and its then stablemate The Spectator were put up for sale in 2023, after Lloyds Banking Group called in debts from the Barclay family, the titles' veteran owners.
Shortly afterwards, a joint venture between RedBird Capital and IMI, the Abu Dhabi state-controlled investor, agreed to buy the titles.
But the government eventually stepped in after concerns were raised about the influence of overseas states in domestic media and the deal was halted.
The Spectator was sold for £100m to hedge fund billionaire Sir Paul Marshall last year, but the Telegraph has yet to secure new ownership.
However, a RedBird Capital-led group of investors came back with a fresh £500m deal offer earlier this year, and in July legislation was passed that would allow IMI to hold a minority stake as part of the consortium.
RedBird Capital founder Gerry Cardinale said following the House of Lords vote that he would "move quickly and in the forthcoming days work with DCMS to progress to completion and implement the new ownership for The Telegraph".
None of the parties involved in the deal, including the DCMS, have commented on the Sky News report.
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