Wealthy donor backs away from Telegraph newspaper purchase deal
Major shake-up in Telegraph newspapers sale process as high-profile investor steps back. The move adds new complexity to the long-running ownership transition of the well-known British media outlet
A high-profile turn in Telegraph newspapers sale happened when Sir Mohamed Mansour decided not to join the buy-out effort. His team made it clear: “Sir Mohamed Mansour is not participating in any bid to buy The Telegraph“
The well-connected business-man (who got his knighthood after giving £5m to current PMʼs election fund) leads one of Egypts top families; he worked as transport minister till about 15 years ago. His company deals with building machines in UAE and works with Chinese-owned MG cars
The newspapers complex ownership situation started roughly 18 months ago when Lloyds Bank took control. Later Dovid Efune‚ a NY Sun owner tried to buy it but his funding search hit some walls:
- Koch family from America said no
- Oaktree Capital stepped back
- Hudson Bay Capital declined
- Portage Partners showed no interest
The deal got more complex when RedBird IMI (backed by Abu Dhabi) paid £600m for Telegraph debt last winter. They couldnʼt own it due to new rules about state ownership; this made UAE leaders un-happy
The Spectator magazine part got sold to Sir Paul Marshall for £100m but Telegraphʼs future isnt clear yet. Efuneʼs team got more time to find money (the first deadline was yesterday) and his people say theres “strong momentum“ in talks
