Telegraph: Ministers may order probe into newspaper's sale

The culture secretary has said she may order a probe into the sale of the Telegraph newspaper and Spectator magazine to an Abu Dhabi-backed fund, citing "concerns" about the deal.

Lucy Frazer said she was "minded to" issue an intervention notice on public interest grounds.

Earlier this week, RedBird IMI said it was poised to take control of the titles.

RedBird IMI said it believed their editorial independence was "essential".

In a written statement on Wednesday, Ms Frazer said had contacted the publication's previous owners the Barclay family, their bank Lloyds and Redbird IMI to inform them of the possible intervention.

'Further investigation'

She said: "This relates to concerns I have that there may be public interest considerations… that are relevant to the intended loan repayment by the Barclay family and the planned acquisition of Telegraph Media Group by Redbird IMI and that these concerns warrant further investigation."

She added: "It is important to note that I have not taken a final decision on intervention at this stage."

If Ms Frazer does issue an intervention notice, it could lead to an investigation by regulators.

The parties have been given until 15:00 GMT on Thursday to respond to the secretary of state.

Editorial independence

It comes after six Conservative MPs wrote to Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden and the business and culture secretaries over the weekend to raise concerns about how RedBird IMI's offer could affect national security and press freedom.

They said International Media Investments was owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of the Emirati royal family and the deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates.

The MPs wrote: "Material influence over a quality national newspaper being passed to a foreign ruler at any time should raise concerns, but given the current geopolitical context, such a deal must be investigated."

In a statement, RedBird IMI said it welcomed the opportunity to "make further representations" to the government.

It added: "If we gain ownership of the Telegraph and Spectator we will be fully committed to maintaining the existing editorial team of the publications and believe that editorial independence for these titles is essential to protecting their reputation and credibility."

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The Telegraph and Spectator were taken over by Lloyds Bank five months ago as it sought to recover debts owed by the Barclay brothers.

Lloyds launched a sales process of the business to recover more than £1bn that was outstanding.

However, on Monday RedBird IMI investment fund, which is a joint venture between US firm RedBird Capital and International Media Investments (IMI) of Abu Dhabi, confirmed it had reached a deal with the Barclays.

This would see the debts owed to Lloyds repaid, and the news titles taken out of receivership.

In a statement on Monday, RedBird IMI said: "Following transfer of ownership, RedBird Capital alone will take over management and operational responsibility for the titles under the leadership of RedBird IMI Chief Executive Jeff Zucker."

Mr Zucker is a former CNN boss.

The company added that International Media Investments "will be a passive investor only".