Redbird IMI, owner of the right-wing Telegraph Media Group news empire, has sold The Spectator portion of the business to arch Brexiteer and controversial hedge fund manager Paul Marshall.
Marshall, who bankrolled the launch of the GB News TV channel in 2021, paid £100 million for the publication, the Spectator said.
It marks the latest twist in a convoluted saga over The Telegraph’s ownership after United Arab Emirates-backed Redbird IMI bought it out of Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LSE:LLOY)’s receivership last year.
Lloyds seized control of the business when former owners the Barclay brothers failed to make interest payments on their borrowings with the bank.
Since then, the former Tory government blocked Redbird IMI’s takeover of the Telegraph Media Group due to fears of political influence from the UAE.
Numerous suitors have since lined up to wrest control of the business after Redbird IMI put it back up for auction.
Alongside Marshall, Maurice Saatchi, private equity group CVC, the Murdoch empire and the Daily Mail have entered talks.
The Spectator called the £100 million deal a “vindication” of its “unusual business model”.
“The price we’ve been sold for, £100 million, speaks to that belief in our potential,” said the Spectator’s editor Fraser Nelson.
“We were valued at £20 million when we separated from the Daily Telegraph in 2005. Since then, the magazine market has fallen by about two-thirds but our subscriptions have more than doubled.
“This five times valuation increase is, to put it mildly, rare in our industry. The auction attracted 22 potential bidders, including some of the greatest and most respected names in British and European publishing.
“Not bad for a publication with barely three dozen journalists.”