Abu Dhabi-backed fund poised to take over Telegraph

An Abu Dhabi-backed concern money is poised to instrumentality power of the Telegraph paper and Spectator magazine.

RedBird IMI said it had agreed to supply loans to repay debts owed by the publication's erstwhile owners, the Barclay family, that would bring the titles retired of receivership.

If the woody is approved past Redbird's main executive, erstwhile CNN brag Jeff Zucker, would tally the business.

However, immoderate woody is apt to look adjacent regulatory scrutiny.

It comes 5 months aft the Telegraph and Spectator were taken implicit by Lloyds slope arsenic it sought to retrieve debts owed by Barclay brothers.

Lloyds launched a income process of the concern to retrieve much than £1bn that was outstanding.

However, connected Monday the concern fund, which is simply a associated task betwixt US steadfast RedBird Capital and International Media Investments (IMI) of Abu Dhabi, confirmed it had reached a woody with the Barclays.

This volition spot the debts owed to Lloyds repaid, and the quality titles taken retired of receivership.

RedBird IMI volition lend the Barclays £600m, secured against the publications, with IMI besides providing a akin sized indebtedness against different Barclay-owned assets.

Under the presumption of the woody Redbird has the close to crook the indebtedness secured against the Telegraph and Spectator into equity, which would manus it power of the titles.

A spokesperson said it planned to "exercise this enactment astatine an aboriginal opportunity".

Any woody is apt to pull regulatory scrutiny. On Sunday, six Conservative MPs wrote to Deputy PM Oliver Dowden and the concern and civilization secretaries to rise concerns astir nationalist information and property freedom.

They said International Media Investments was owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a subordinate of the Emirati royal household and the lawman premier curate of the United Arab Emirates.

The MPs wrote: "Material power implicit a prime nationalist paper being passed to a overseas ruler astatine immoderate clip should rise concerns, but fixed the existent geopolitical context, specified a woody indispensable beryllium investigated."

In its statement, Redbird IMI said that pursuing the transportation of ownership, RedBird Capital unsocial would instrumentality implicit the absorption of the titles nether the enactment of Mr Zucker. It added that International Media Investments "will beryllium a passive capitalist only".

It added: "RedBird IMI are wholly committed to maintaining the existing editorial squad of the Telegraph and Spectator publications and judge that editorial independency for these titles is indispensable to protecting their estimation and credibility."

Other names person been linked to the Telegraph and Spectator since they were enactment up for merchantability including GB News capitalist Sir Paul Marshall, Daily Mail steadfast DMGT and German steadfast Axel Springer.