Politico owner Axel Springer joins rival Telegraph bid led by Dovid Efune.
Axel Springer, the media group behind Politico and Business Insider, has thrown its weight behind a competing bid for the Telegraph as a planned £500 million sale to the Daily Mail’s owner faces months of regulatory scrutiny.
Springer, which also publishes Europe’s top-circulating newspaper Bild, is now part of a consortium led by Dovid Efune, the British operator of the New York Sun, who has been pursuing the Telegraph titles for more than a year.
This development adds another twist to the Telegraph’s ownership saga, which has stretched over three years. An agreed sale to Lord Rothermere’s DMGT—publisher of the Daily Mail—has been referred to regulators amid concerns about media plurality and competition.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has voiced worries about further consolidation of conservative-leaning titles and the potential for the Mail and Telegraph to align editorial stances more closely.
DMGT has disputed labeling its newspapers as “right-wing,” arguing the description is vague. Ofcom will assess the deal’s impact on media plurality.
Axel Springer’s involvement considerably strengthens Efune’s bid, though it would still need the DMGT deal to collapse for Efune’s consortium to prevail.
A Telegraph Media Group spokesperson confirmed: “We have submitted a superior offer letter to the seller.”
The statement outlined an offer with a larger upfront cash payment, a small debt component, and no anticipated regulatory hurdles related to competition, public interest, or foreign government influence. It also claimed the consortium has the full capital needed to finalize the transaction and argued the proposal serves the best interests of the Telegraph, its staff, readers, and the wider British public, reiterating unwavering commitment to a favorable outcome for all parties in what has been a lengthy process.
In addition to Efune, the consortium features David D. Smith, owner of the Baltimore Sun, and British investor Jeremy Hosking, who has previously supported Reclaim and Conservative causes as well as the Brexit campaign.
Sources close to Rothermere say there are no financing concerns about the £500 million bid, though Telegraph insiders remain wary about whether the deal will ultimately close.
This week, RedBird IMI—an Abu Dhabi-backed entity seeking to sell the titles after a legal requirement to divest following changes to state ownership rules—was freed from restrictions that had previously blocked a subsequent sale.
DMGT declined to comment.
