We shouldn’t have given the UAE such a big role in the Telegraph deal, admits Jeff Zucker
The leader of the blocked takeover bid told The Telegraph that he should not have given Abu Dhabi such a big role in the deal.
Jeff Zucker, who runs RedBird IMI, said in hindsight he would have changed the structure of the offering to reduce the Gulf state’s involvement.
Speaking at the WSJ CEO Council summit in London, he said: “As far as The Telegraph is concerned, what we should have done is structured the deal differently and changed the ownership percentage of each of the entities that were part of RedBird IMI.
“If we could have gone back and restructured sooner, I think we would have.” I think that probably would have been enough.
RedBird IMI, 75% backed by International Media Investments (IMI), a vehicle controlled by Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, officially abandoned its takeover bid for The Telegraph and Spectator last week .
The move came after the government intervened to block the deal with a new law banning foreign state ownership of British newspapers.
Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer had already suspended the deal while regulators carried out a review due to concerns about the impact on press freedom.
When asked what he would have done differently, Mr. Zucker also said he would have immediately completed the Spectator takeover deal, which was not subject to the same regulatory scrutiny.
The former CNN boss said his fund was “just being good citizens” by working with regulators and agreeing to trade both stocks at the same time.
He added: “If I could go back in time, obviously we would have closed the Spectator straight away. We had the capacity to do it and we should have done it.
RedBird IMI has now started a sales process for both titles, which could be sold separately or as a package.
The auction, led by bankers Raine and Robey Warshaw, is expected to attract interest from British media moguls including Daily Mail owner Lord Rothermere and GB News co-owner Sir Paul Marshall.
Mr Zucker said interest in The Telegraph and Spectator had been “pretty significant”, adding that he had been surprised by the number of calls he had received from potential buyers outside the UK.
RedBird IMI has acquired an ownership option on Barclays family securities in a deal to repay a £1.2 billion debt to Lloyds Banking Group.
In addition to the full sale of the publications, RedBird Capital, the US private equity fund which represents the remaining 25% of the joint venture, may seek to retain its stake and find a new investor to replace the Emirati vehicle.
Earlier this month, Ms Frazer called on RedBird IMI to complete the sale as quickly as possible to end uncertainty at the newspaper.
The government is expected to launch a consultation on banning foreign ownership in the coming weeks, amid pressure from Daily Mail owner DMGT and Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp to water down the rules.
Mr. Zucker said he expected the subsequent sale, which could also face regulatory review, to “work itself out” in the next two to three months.
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