German group Axel Springer to buy Telegraph – Daily Business

German media group Axel Springer has outbid the owner of the Daily Mail to buy The Telegraph Media Group (TMG) in a deal worth £575 million.

Springer has pledged to preserve the “distinctive character and legacy” of the newspaper after seeing off a £500m bid by Lord Rothermere’s Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT).

Mathias Döpfner, chief executive of Axel Springer, said: “More than 20 years ago, we tried to acquire the Telegraph and did not succeed.

“Now our dream comes true. To be the owner of this institution of quality British journalism is a privilege and a duty.”

Axel Springer’s biggest domestic titles are Bild and Die Welt, and it also owns Politico and Business Insider [unrelated to Insider Media].

It said it would back an investment programme into TMG to “grow and expand the business” and also expand the Telegraph into the United States.

TMG was put up for sale in 2023 after Lloyds Banking Group effectively repossessed the group as the Barclay brothers family fell into arrears on debts secured against the media company.

Several attempts to buy the group have fallen through over the years. US investment group RedBird Capital had attempted to buy the group twice.