Axel Springer won the competition for TMG with the owner of the Daily Mail, The Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT), which offered £500 million. Until recently, it seemed that DMGT would finalize the purchase, but the German media giant managed to outbid its competitor.
— We tried to take over The Telegraph over 20 years ago but failed. Now our dream is coming true, said Mathias Doepfner, CEO of Axel Springer. As he emphasized, the company intends to “preserve the special character and heritage” of the British daily. — It is a privilege and a responsibility to own this institution of quality British journalism – he added.
Debts and the battle for pluralism in the media. The path to the buyout of Telegraph Media Group
Telegraph Media Group went up for sale in 2023 as a result of the financial problems of the Barclay family, the previous owners of the publishing house. However, the sales process was complicated and prolonged due to numerous offers that were ultimately not implemented. In November 2025, DMGT agreed to take over the publishing house, but the matter was stalled after the intervention of the British Minister of Culture, Lisa Nanda. It asked the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to investigate whether the deal threatens media pluralism in the UK.
“The Daily Telegraph”, existing since 1855, is one of the most influential dailies in Great Britain, distinguished by its conservative political profile. The Sunday version of the newspaper, The Sunday Telegraph, has been published since 1961.
Axel Springer is a European media empire
Axel Springer is one of the largest media concerns in Europe, whose portfolio includes such titles as the German dailies “Die Welt” and “Bild”, as well as international portals such as Business Insider and Politico. In Poland, the company is a co-owner of Ringier Axel Springer Polska, which owns, among others, the “Fakt” daily, the Onet portal and the Polish edition of the “Newsweek” weekly.
