The head of Britain’s Telegraph Media Group, Nick Hugh, has stepped down from his position amidst a probe by UK lawmakers into the proposed takeover of the company by a United Arab Emirates (UAE)-backed fund. The announcement was made by TMG and parent company Press Acquisitions Limited on Friday. Anna Jones will now become the first female boss of the group, which includes The Daily and Sunday Telegraph newspapers and The Spectator magazine.
The regulators were originally expected to submit a review to the government on the potential impact of the takeover by RedBird IMI on the same day as Hugh’s resignation was announced. However, the deadline has been pushed back to March 11 due to modifications made by RedBird IMI regarding the structure of the holding that would control the media group.
In November, RedBird IMI, a joint venture between US firm RedBird Capital and Abu Dhabi’s International Media Investments, struck a £1.2 billion ($1.5 billion) deal with the Barclay family, the owners of TMG. As part of the agreement, RedBird IMI paid off the media group’s bank debts in exchange for control.
The proposed takeover immediately raised concerns in the British media industry, leading the UK government to launch a formal investigation on public interest grounds. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) was tasked with examining jurisdictional and competition matters related to the deal, while media regulator Ofcom was asked to report on the need for accurate presentation of news and free expression of opinion in newspapers.
Critics of the takeover deal include lawmakers from the ruling Conservative party, who have historically enjoyed a close relationship with the right-leaning Telegraph titles. Staff members and freedom of press activists have also expressed their concerns. Spectator chairman Andrew Neil even urged ministers to block the deal, threatening to quit his role if the takeover went ahead. He emphasized that the United Arab Emirates is an undemocratic government and questioned the idea of a foreign government owning British newspapers and magazines.
RedBird IMI, led by former CNN president Jeff Zucker, is primarily owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, vice president of the UAE and owner of Manchester City Football Club. Zucker has maintained that Mansour would be a passive investor and insisted that the takeover was American-led.
The ongoing probe and the management shakeup at TMG continue to generate significant interest and speculation in media circles. The results of the review, now scheduled for March 11, will be instrumental in shaping the future of the proposed takeover and the media landscape in the UK as a whole.
