A company linked to Sheikh Mansour wanted to buy The Telegraph and The Spectator. The English government will pass a law preventing the deal.
United Kingdom will Preventing foreign governments from owning newspapers and magazines in the country. This decision follows a proposal to buy The Telegraph and The Spectator magazine by a company linked to the United Arab Emirates and backed by Sheikh Mansour, Vice President of that country.
Redbird IMI, an Emirati company intending to buy the two publications, said it was “extremely disappointed” by the decision, arguing that its intention to acquire The Telegraph and The Spectator was simply based on the perception that the UK media sector was “deserving of further investment”.
The choice made by the British government was announced by Culture Secretary Stephen Parkinson. The government official stressed that the bill specifically targets “foreign country ownership,” leaving News Corp, owned by Australian Rupert Murdoch, owner of newspapers such as The Sun and The Sunday Times, safe.
The decision of the government led by Rishi Sunak, according to Semaphore, comes in response to rConcerns expressed by Conservative Party membersThe current incumbent, who enjoys a close relationship with the two newspapers, said the deal would jeopardize the editorial independence of both newspapers.
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