Mail proprietor’s bid for Telegraph newspaper could also be scrutinised by regulators

The sale of The Telegraph newspaper to DMGT, the owner of the Daily Mail, may be scrutinised by regulators, the Government has announced.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said on Tuesday night that she was ‘minded’ to intervene on public interest grounds.

If she does, she would refer the £500million deal to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and the media regulator Ofcom.

It was announced in November that DMGT had signed a deal to buy Telegraph Media Group, which has endured more than two-and-a-half years of damaging uncertainty over its future.

Ms Nandy, who has to approve the proposal, said she had informed the two newspaper groups of her intention, and given them until Monday to make submissions to her.

DMGT announced in November that it had signed a deal to buy Telegraph Media Group

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy (pictured) said on Tuesday night that she was ‘minded’ to intervene on public interest grounds and refer the sale to the CMA and media regulator Ofcom

She told the House of Commons any intervention by her would be on the grounds of maintaining a ‘plurality of views’ in the media and ensuring sufficient ‘plurality of persons of control’. 

The CMA would examine whether combining ownership of The Telegraph with DMGT’s existing news portfolio would impact market competition.

The Culture Secretary said: ‘Following a thorough consideration of the terms set out in the derogation request and independent research, 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.

‘This will enable the necessary regulatory scrutiny to commence.’