German media group Axel Springer has agreed to acquire the owner of Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper for £575 million ($766 million), the companies announced on Friday. The deal ends a prolonged period of uncertainty over the ownership of Telegraph Media Group, which publishes the 171-year-old conservative-leaning Daily Telegraph and its Sunday edition.
Axel Springer said it plans to invest in the group to transform it into the leading centre-right media outlet in the English-speaking world and accelerate expansion into the U.S. market. “More than 20 years ago, we tried to acquire The Telegraph and did not succeed. Now our dream comes true,” said CEO Mathias Döpfner. The German publisher owns titles including Bild, Welt, and political news outlet Politico.
The Telegraph group was put up for sale in 2023 by its previous owner, Britain's Barclay family, to help repay debts. A bid from RedBird IMI, a consortium backed by RedBird Capital Partners and Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi's royal family, collapsed in 2024 after the UK government introduced legislation to block foreign state ownership of British newspapers.
Rival bidder Daily Mail owner had offered £500 million, but the government ordered an investigation into competition and media plurality concerns. Right-leaning magazine The Spectator, previously part of the Telegraph group, was sold separately in 2024 to hedge fund investor Paul Marshall.
