TORY TELEGRAPH PROTECTED FROM UAE PURCHASE BY TORY GOVERNMENT
Christopher Williams
Fri, 15 March 2024
Mr McTighe is also chairman of BT's independent network arm Openreach and the FTSE 250 spread betting operator IG Group - Julian Simmonds
The Telegraph has won ministerial approval to appoint Mike McTighe as its chairman, as it faces the fallout from the failure of a takeover bid backed by the United Arab Emirates.
Mr McTighe, 70, was previously chairman of Press Acquisitions Limited, the parent company of The Telegraph and The Spectator magazine.
By becoming chairman of The Telegraph itself, it is expected he will become more closely involved in the day-to-day running of the company and the corporate, regulatory and political challenges posed by the continuing uncertainty over its ownership.
Mr McTighe, who is also chairman of BT’s independent network arm Openreach and the FTSE 250 spread betting operator IG Group, said he would seek “clarity and certainty” for The Telegraph to enable it to “continue delivering consistently high-quality and fiercely independent editorial content”.
“It is a privilege to join the board of Telegraph Media Group to provide representation for the company as we work to secure a strong future for this important organisation,” he said.
Anna Jones, chief executive of The Telegraph, said that Mr McTighe “brings a wealth of industry experience and he will provide additional stability to the operation of the business as we navigate the weeks and months ahead”.
The Telegraph’s ownership has been up in the air since June, when Lloyds Banking Group seized control as part of a debt dispute with the Barclay Family and planned to auction The Telegraph and The Spectator.
In December, RedBird IMI, a fund 75pc backed by the UAE and led by the former CNN chief Jeff Zucker, ambushed rival suitors by helping repay the £1.2bn in overdue borrowing with a new loan that included an option to immediately convert the lending to ownership.
Intervention by Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer suspended the manoeuvre for regulatory scrutiny of RedBird IMI’s plans. It meant that the Barclay family has regained ownership of The Telegraph, but are barred from exercising any control. Meanwhile, the company is barred from making any significant changes to its key personnel or structure.
Ms Frazer will continue to scrutinise The Telegraph takeover while peers debate the proposed law change - Stefan Rousseau/PA
Mr McTighe, who had been appointed chairman of Press Acquisitions Limited by Lloyds, was asked to remain in place when RedBird IMI swooped, along with two independent directors of The Telegraph.
Ms Frazer has now approved Mr McTighe joining them on the board of the operating company, despite her having protested against the decision in January to part company with the previous chief executive, Nick Hugh.
While the regulatory scrutiny of RedBird IMI continues, it was effectively superseded on Wednesday, when the Government announced it would legislate against foreign state ownership of newspapers.
The full details have not been published but are expected to outlaw RedBird IMI’s bid following an outcry over the potential threat to the public and national interest.
RedBird IMI, which had argued that the UAE would be a purely passive investor and that legally binding protections for press freedom would be put in place, immediately signalled it was likely to sell on its position.
An onward sale could allow another owner to buy the £600m loan it made to the Barclay family and convert it to ownership of The Telegraph and The Spectator.
At last year’s aborted auction, the Daily Mail owner Lord Rothermere, Rupert Murdoch’s News UK, the GB News co-owner Sir Paul Marshall, the local newspaper group National World, the Belgian publisher Mediahuis and German media empire Axel Springer all registered their interest in bidding, among others.
RedBird IMI also said that commercial interests would be the “sole priority” as it considered its next move. If the fund, a joint venture between the UAE and RedBird Capital, a US private equity firm, is unable to find a buyer to match the price it paid, it could seek an alternative exit.
RedBird IMI could “sell” the debt to one of the RedBird Capital funds that does not involve state funding. There would be challenges to this approach however, as it conducted no formal due diligence on The Telegraph before helping to repay the Barclay family debt.
It would therefore require a leap of faith from RedBird Capital’s more conventional Western backers, drawn from pension funds and family offices.
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