Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has signalled her intention to ask media and competition watchdogs to scrutinise the proposed £500m takeover of the Telegraph titles by the owner of the Daily Mail. Daily Mail & General Trust (DMGT) agreed a deal in November to buy the newspapers, in a move that would create a major right-leaning publishing group.
In a written statement to Parliament, Nandy said she was “minded to” intervene, instructing Ofcom to examine the impact on media plurality of bringing the Daily and Sunday Telegraph together with the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday. The Competition and Markets Authority would separately assess whether the deal raises competition concerns.
Nandy is expected to issue a public interest intervention notice (PIIN), which would trigger an investigation of up to 40 working days. The probe would also consider whether control of the combined titles by Lord Rothermere’s DMGT would pose public interest issues regarding “sufficient plurality of persons with control”.
However, Nandy stressed that no final decision had been taken, and she confirmed the deal would not be examined under the foreign state influence regime. Redbird IMI, the joint venture that took control of the Telegraph in 2023, and DMGT have until 26 January to respond to her department’s letter.
Redbird IMI was forced to put the newspaper group up for sale in April 2024 after changes to UK law targeting foreign state ownership. A later deal involving RedBird Capital and a 10% DMGT stake fell through last November. DMGT has said the Mail and Telegraph editorial teams would remain separate and independent, with investment aimed at making the Telegraph a global brand and providing “much-needed certainty” for its staff.
