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  "path": "/news/1979140/german-media-group-axel-springer-buys-uks-telegraph-for-766-million-ending-ownership-limbo",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-06T14:55:01.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.dawn.com",
  "tags": [
    "World",
    "took control"
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  "textContent": "German media group Axel Springer said on Friday it had agreed to buy Britain’s Telegraph Media Group for 575 million pounds ($766.3 million) in cash, bringing to an end a prolonged period of uncertainty over the newspaper’s ownership.\n\nThe deal gatecrashed _Daily Mail_ owner DMGT’s attempt to buy its broadsheet rival, which had been facing regulatory probes in Britain amid concerns about media plurality.\n\nAxel Springer said it would preserve the _Telegraph_ ’s legacy while providing a platform for expansion, including in the US, and reaffirmed its commitment to “high-quality, independent journalism” and media plurality in Britain.\n\nAfter buying _Politico_ in a deal valued at around $1 billion in 2021, the _Telegraph_ purchase becomes Axel Springer’s second-largest investment since its founding in 1946, following an earlier failed attempt to acquire the paper in 2004.\n\n### ‘Swift and efficient’ negotiations\n\nMathias Dopfner, Axel Springer’s CEO, said owning the _Telegraph_ was “a privilege and a duty”.\n\nHe said the group aimed to grow the title while preserving its character and helping it become “the most read and intellectually inspiring centre-right media outlet in the English-speaking world”.\n\nHe acknowledged _Telegraph_ staff had faced a prolonged period of uncertainty and said that the publisher intended to “bring that uncertainty to an end”.\n\nThe company credited _New York Sun_ publisher Dovid Efune for his support in the deal.\n\nEfune led a consortium with Axel Springer to bid for the titles last month, but Axel Springer concluded the deal alone.\n\nRedBird IMI said it was pleased to have reached an agreement following “swift and efficient” negotiations.\n\n“With the strength of their commercial offer and a straightforward regulatory path to ownership, we believe that Axel Springer is well placed to take the _Telegraph_ forward into its next chapter,” RedBird said in a statement.\n\nThe companies said they were now working with the British government to obtain the necessary approvals.\n\nCulture Minister Lisa Nandy’s decision last month to issue a public-interest intervention notice sent DMGT’s deal to regulators, who were examining the implications for media plurality and competition.\n\nNandy’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.\n\n### Long-running ownership dispute\n\nThe deal brings an end to a saga that began in June 2023, when Lloyds Banking Group effectively repossessed the _Telegraph_ after longtime owners the Barclay family fell into arrears on about 1.2 billion pounds of debts secured against the newspaper group.\n\nRedBird IMI took control after paying off a 600 million pound loan owed to Lloyds, but the titles remained in limbo as Britain moved to block foreign state involvement in national newspapers, forcing it to reverse course.\n\nUS investment firm RedBird Capital Partners then tried to buy the group, with Abu Dhabi-backed IMI taking a minority position, but the deal collapsed in November 2025.\n\nThe bid had been restructured to comply with new rules capping foreign state ownership at 15pc, but was withdrawn after a slower-than-expected regulatory process and internal opposition from senior _Telegraph_ newsroom figures.",
  "title": "German media group Axel Springer buys UK’s Telegraph for $766 million, ending ownership limbo"
}