Axel Springer buys UK's Telegraph for $766mn, ending ownership limbo

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.

The 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.

Axel 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.

After 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.

'SWIFT AND EFFICIENT' NEGOTIATIONS

Mathias Dopfner, Axel Springer's CEO, said owning the Telegraph was "a privilege and a duty".

He 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".

He acknowledged Telegraph staff had faced a prolonged period of uncertainty and said that the publisher intended to "bring that uncertainty to an end".

The company credited New York Sun publisher Dovid Efune for his support in the deal.

Efune led a consortium with Axel Springer to bid for the titles last month, but Axel Springer concluded the deal alone.

RedBird IMI said it was pleased to have reached agreement following "swift and efficient" negotiations.

"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.

The companies said they were now working with the British government to obtain the necessary approvals.

Culture minister Lisa Nandy intervened last month to send DMGT's deal to regulators to examine the implications for media plurality and competition. Nandy's office did not respond to a request for comment.

DMGT said on Friday it had worked hard to complete the deal. "We believe that the protracted and out-of-date regulatory framework guarantees that UK-based national newspaper groups are at a huge competitive disadvantage in any merger process," a spokesperson said.

LONG-RUNNING OWNERSHIP DISPUTE

The 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 1.2 billion pounds of debts secured against the newspaper group.

RedBird 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.

US 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.

The bid had been restructured to comply with new rules capping foreign state ownership at 15 percent, but was withdrawn after a slower-than-expected regulatory process and internal opposition from senior Telegraph newsroom figures.

Boutique investment bank LionTree advised Axel Springer.