Nandy intends to refer Daily Mail's Telegraph takeover to media regulator

"The culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, intends to ask the UK's media and competition watchdogs to examine the proposed 500m takeover of the Telegraph titles by the owner of the Daily Mail. Daily Mail & General Trust (DMGT) agreed a deal in November to buy the titles, in a move that will create a right-leaning publishing powerhouse. Nandy said on Tuesday she was minded to task Ofcom with looking at the impact on media plurality of bringing the Daily"

"and Sunday Telegraph titles together with the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday. The Competition and Markets Authority will look at whether the proposed deal creates competition issues. Nandy is expected shortly to issue a public interest intervention notice (PIIN), which starts an investigation process of up to 40 working days. The investigation would also look at whether the right-leaning national news behemoth, which would be controlled by Lord Rothermere's DMGT, would create public interest issues on the grounds of sufficient plurality"

"My department has today written to the current and proposed owners of the Telegraph Media Group on my behalf to inform them that I am minded to' intervene, said Nandy, in a written statement to parliament published on Tuesday. It is important to note that I have not taken a final decision on intervention at this stage. She said she had also decided that the deal did not need to be scrutinised under the new foreign state influence regime."

Lisa Nandy intends to ask the UK's media and competition watchdogs to examine DMGT's proposed 500m takeover of the Telegraph titles. DMGT agreed in November to buy the Daily and Sunday Telegraph titles, which would combine with the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday to form a right-leaning publishing powerhouse. Ofcom would assess media plurality implications while the Competition and Markets Authority would examine competition effects. A public interest intervention notice would trigger an investigation of up to 40 working days, including whether control by Lord Rothermere's DMGT would create plurality issues. The deal was not referred under the foreign state influence regime. RedBird IMI and DMGT have until 26 January to respond.

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