Media secretary ‘minded to’ open second probe into Telegraph sale
Media secretary Lucy Frazer has said she is “minded to” to open a new investigation into the proposed £600m sale of the Telegraph Media Group (TMG) to Abu-Dhabi backed Redbird IMI.
The decision was triggered by changes made by media investment firm Redbird IMI to the corporate structure of the entity set to buy the Telegraph titles.
A restructuring that came into effect on Tuesday has shifted the ownership to a holding company in the form of a new English limited partnership.
RedBird IMI has told the UK government it will establish a new UK-based holding company for the Telegraph titles.
Frazer said she has “noted the very late stage” at which this new corporate structure has taken place.
“I do not consider this is conducive to the full and proper functioning of the process,” she added.
So, she has asked Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to assess whether the revamped corporate structure warrants a new investigation.
The previous Public Interest Intervention Notice (PIIN) that Frazer issued late last year remains in place.
If Frazer does decide to issue a new PIIN, the UK’s communications and competition regulators would need to assess the new merger deal and report back to Frazer.
As it stands, Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) are due to report to Frazer on the current PIIN next week but this deadline could now be postponed.
Redbird IMI has defended the changes, saying the identity, nature and economic interests of shareholders will stay the same.
A spokesperson for RedBird IMI said: “This change was made in order to clarify the point that IMI is a passive investor in the company that will own the Telegraph and as such will have no management or editorial involvement whatsoever in the title.”
It follows weeks of anger and criticism from parliamentarians and journalists, worried about the influence of foreign ownership on the large British national.