Britain holds back UAE's Sheikh Mansour before he buys Telegraph

The British government has worked to put the brakes on the UAE’s efforts to acquire The Daily Telegraph by proposing a bill hurriedly. With loopholes in the legislative system, Britain’s emblematic news media outlet dating back to 165 years ago could have been bought by foreign capital.

Parliamentary Under-Secretary Stephen Parkinson of State for Arts and Heritage announced on Wednesday that Britain will introduce a bill to prevent other governments from attempting to own or control British media assets except broadcast networks. The bill will be made into an Act of Parliament to take effect immediately after the King’s Consent is granted.

The government-level action was taken as RedBird IMI, a joint venture created by U.S. private investment firm RedBird Capital Partners and UAE private investor International Media Investment (IMI), sought to buy Telegraph Media Group, which owns The Daily Telegraph.

Seventy-five percent of RedBird IMI is owned by Sheikh Mansour, vice president of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), well-known as the owner of the EPL’s Manchester United and current UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s younger brother. Last year, he signed a deal to acquire TMG’s management in return for paying the company’s large debts.

After it was reported that RedBird IMI would buy TMG for 600 million pounds, conservative parties showed strong opposition, worrying that the autocracy attempted to wield influence over British media. Founded in 1855, The Telegraph has secured its status as one of the country’s leading conservative newspapers, even nicknamed The Tory Graph due to its close relationship with the ruling Conservative Party.

British media outlets projected that the bill in question would block the acquisition of British media businesses if it is concluded that there is any possibility that an overseas government could have a dominant influence over Britain. The Independent is partially owned by a Saudi Arabian investor. However, even if the bill comes into effect, it will not be applied retrospectively to any previously signed deals.

RedBird IMI, which had made it clear while working on the deal that it would not play a part in management, said on Wednesday that it was a deeply disappointing decision made by the British government. The Telegraph wrote that the investor would give it another shot by adjusting its share to a level that is lower than specified in the upcoming bill.


Jeong-Soo Hong hong@donga.com