Jeff Zucker and Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird IMI, the brand new Abu Dhabi-backed proprietor of All3Media, has pulled out of its deal to purchase the UK’s Daily Telegraph following press freedom issues.
RedBird IMI will now must successfully promote the Telegraph because it had already taken management of the British paper plus Spectator Magazine in December when it repaid proprietor the Barclay household’s money owed, together with a £600M ($753M) mortgage towards the titles.
“RedBird IMI has today confirmed that it intends to withdraw from its proposed acquisition of the Telegraph Media Group and proceed with a sale,” a RedBird IMI spokesperson advised Reuters. “We have held constructive conversations with the government about ensuring a smooth and orderly sale for both titles.”
The transfer comes months after RedBird IMI was prevented from bringing the deal residence as a consequence of regulatory roadblocks amid concern on the higher echelons of UK authorities round press freedom. The acquisition was dealt a remaining blow final month when the UK introduced in a legislation to cease overseas governments proudly owning newspapers, coming after RedBird IMI had proposed a plan whereby it could have integrated a brand new UK holding firm which might personal the Telegraph titles and Spectator journal. This didn’t do sufficient to bend the federal government’s will.
One potential purchaser may now be GB News co-owner Paul Marshall, who had additionally bid for the paper alongside a consortium of buyers together with U.S. billionaire Ken Griffin.
UK Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer, who had virulently opposed the deal, stated: “Throughout this process I have raised concerns about the potential impact of this deal on free expression and accurate presentation of news, and I took steps to ensure that media freedom was protected while there was an investigation into those concerns. I will now allow the parties to conduct an orderly transition and I will monitor the outcome with a view to taking any further regulatory action as required under the Enterprise Act.”
She added that free press “is a cornerstone of [UK] democracy, and we cannot take it for granted. That is why I used my powers as Culture Secretary to investigate this deal.”
RedBird IMI not too long ago purchased The Traitors and The Tourist super-indie All3Media for £1.15B ($1.45B) and that deal is being rubberstamped by regulators, though there isn’t a opposition within the vein of The Telegraph.
Zucker and Cardinale’s Redbird IMI is 75%-owned by Abu Dhabi and was shaped in 2022. RedBird Capital, which owns the opposite share, has a roster together with Skydance Media, the YES Network, and Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s Artists Equity. RedBird additionally teamed with Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia to purchase the XFL out of chapter.