Barclay Family Regains Control Of UK's Telegraph Group After Debt Repaid

The Barclay family, owner of Telegraph Media Group, has repaid a £1.2-billion bank debt, lender Lloyds said Monday, paving the way for a possible sale to an Abu Dhabi-backed fund.

The publisher of The Daily Telegraph newspaper has been controlled by twin brothers Frederick and David Barclay for nearly two decades -- but Lloyds seized control in June over the debt.

"We can confirm the repayment... has now completed," the banking giant said in a brief statement.

RedBird IMI -- a joint venture between US firm RedBird Capital and Abu Dhabi's International Media Investments -- struck a deal earlier this month with the Barclay family to repay the debt in exchange for control of the company.

However, the UK government last week triggered a formal probe on public interest grounds into the proposed sale to the UAE-backed investment firm.

London-based TMG also publishes other right-leaning titles including The Sunday Telegraph newspaper and The Spectator magazine, all of which have traditionally supported the ruling Conservatives.

Under the agreement, RedBird IMI has the option of converting its loans of about £1.2-billion into shares in the media group.

RedBird IMI, which is run by former CNN president Jeff Zucker, has indicated that it will not seek to take control of TMG without gaining regulatory approval and will co-operate fully with the probe.

UK Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer said last Thursday that her department had now written to the Barclay family and RedBird IMI to inform them that she was issuing a Public Interest Intervention Notice (PIIN) in relation to the deal.

The decision triggers a requirement for the Competition and Markets Authority regulator to report back to Frazer on jurisdictional and competition matters in the deal.

The plans have sparked concern among some Conservative lawmakers, which has long enjoyed a close ideological relationship with the influential Telegraph titles.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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