Telegraph future in limbo again as RedBird abandons £500m deal

The aboriginal ownership of the Daily Telegraph has been plunged backmost into situation aft RedBird Capital Partners abandoned its projected £500m takeover.

Sky News has learnt that a consortium led by RedBird and including the UAE-based capitalist IMI has formally withdrawn its connection to bargain the right-leaning paper titles.

In a connection issued to Sky News, a RedBird Capital Partners spokesperson confirmed: "RedBird has contiguous withdrawn its bid for the Telegraph Media Group.

"We stay afloat assured that the Telegraph and its world-class squad person a agleam aboriginal up of them and we volition enactment hard to assistance unafraid a solution which is successful the champion interests of employees and readers."

The determination comes astir two-and-a-half years aft the Telegraph's aboriginal was plunged into uncertainty erstwhile its lenders seized power from the Barclay family, its long-standing proprietors.

RedBird IMI past extended financing which gave it a telephone enactment to ain the newspapers, but its archetypal connection was thwarted by objections to overseas authorities ownership of British nationalist newspapers.

A caller woody was past stitched unneurotic which included backing from Daily Mail proprietor Lord Rothermere and Sir Leonard Blavatnik, the billionaire proprietor of sports streaming level DAZN.

Under that deal, Abu Dhabi-based IMI would person taken a 15% involvement successful Telegraph Media Group.

In caller weeks, RedBird main Gerry Cardinale had reiterated his tendency to ain the titles contempt seemingly having been angered by reporting by Telegraph journalists which explored links betwixt RedBird and Chinese authorities influences.

Unrest from the Telegraph newsroom is said to person been 1 of the main factors successful RedBird's determination to retreat its offer.

The illness of the woody means a further auction of the titles is present apt to instrumentality spot successful the caller year.