The sale of The Telegraph, investigated by the British government. Hundreds of millions of pounds worth of business
Lisa Nandy. Credit: Elliott Franks / Eyevine / Profimedia
The British government announced on Thursday that it has launched an investigation into the takeover of The Telegraph newspaper by the owners of the Daily Mail, a deal worth 500 million pounds, according to AFP, BBC and The Guardian.
The culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, said the investigation was motivated by “public interest considerations” and “the need for a sufficient plurality of views in every UK news media market”.
The investigation will also look at “the need for a sufficient plurality of persons in control of media enterprises,” she added.
Competition aspects will be assessed by the relevant authority, while the media regulator, Ofcom, will analyze the impact on the public interest, the culture secretary added.
Buyers say deal will bring 'stability and certainty'
The Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) said it would work with regulators to ensure the deal is completed. DMGT claims the deal will provide “stability and certainty” to Telegraph Media Group (TMG) in a changing industry.
DMGT, whose titles also include i-Paper, New Scientist and Metro, announced a £500m (€573.7m) deal to take over The Telegraph in November after years of uncertainty over the newspaper's future owner.
The media group was put up for sale in 2023 due to debts accumulated by former owners, the Barclay brothers.
In December of that year, a consortium tried to buy TMG, but the conservative government at the time blocked the deal, citing concerns about the publication being owned by a foreign state, as the consortium was backed by the ruling family of Abu Dhabi.
The Conservative government also changed merger laws to prevent foreign powers from controlling UK newspapers.
Several attempts to acquire the media group have since failed. The DMGT bid was approved in November 2025.
