The media company Axel Springer, the owner of Politico and Business Insider, has joined a rival bid for the Telegraph as a proposed £500m sale to the owner of the Daily Mail faces months of scrutiny from regulators.
Axel Springer, which also owns Europe’s highest-circulation newspaper, Bild, has joined a consortium led by Dovid Efune, the British owner of the New York Sun, who has been pursuing the Telegraph titles for more than a year.
The move marks the latest twist in the three-year saga of the Telegraph’s ownership. An agreed sale to Lord Rothermere, whose company DMGT publishes the Daily Mail, has been referred to regulators over concerns about media plurality and competition.
The culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, has raised concerns about further consolidation of “right-leaning” titles and the risk that the Mail and Telegraph could adopt aligned editorial positions.
While DMGT disputed the characterisation of its newspapers as “right wing”, arguing the term was vague, Ofcom will examine the deal’s impact on media plurality.
Axel Springer’s involvement significantly strengthens the credibility of Efune’s consortium, though the sale to DMGT would have to collapse for his bid to advance.
“We can confirm that we have submitted a superior offer letter to the seller of the Telegraph Media Group,” Efune’s consortium said.
“The offer includes a larger upfront cash payment, a minimal debt portion and no anticipated regulatory hurdles, including as it relates to all the requirements on competition, public interest and foreign government influence. Our offer has backing amounting to the full required capital to consummate a transaction.
“We believe our proposal is in the best interests of the seller, the Telegraph, its staff, readers and the wider British public. Our commitment to securing the best possible outcome for all parties in this long and winding saga has never wavered.”
The consortium includes the Baltimore Sun owner, David D Smith, and the British investor Jeremy Hosking, who has previously donated to the Reclaim and Conservative parties, as well as the campaign for Brexit.
Sources close to Rothermere insist there are no financing concerns surrounding the £500m agreement, although figures within the Telegraph remain uneasy about whether the deal will ultimately complete.
This week, RedBird IMI, the Abu Dhabi-backed venture seeking to offload the titles after being compelled to sell them by a change in the law around state ownership, was released from the legal restrictions preventing an onward sale.
DMGT declined to comment.
