Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy Refers Daily Mail And General Trust £500M Telegraph Sale

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy referred the proposed £500 million sale of The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph by Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) to the Competition and Markets Authority and Ofcom on public interest and competition grounds and asked them to report by June 10.

Nandy said the referral aims to assess risks to "a sufficient plurality of views" and "a sufficient plurality of persons with control" in UK news markets, according to a written statement from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Daily Mail and General Trust said it remained committed to investing in The Telegraph and disputed the government's plurality concerns, arguing that digital platforms have changed market dynamics, a DMGT spokesperson said.

Officials told ministers the deal would give DMGT control of 46.68% of the right-leaning national daily print newspaper market and follows a three-year sale saga that included a previously blocked Abu Dhabi-backed bid, officials and industry records show.

The Competition and Markets Authority will examine competition issues and Ofcom will examine media public interest considerations, with both regulators due to report back to Nandy by June 10 and potentially require remedies or block the transaction, officials warned.