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B’naire and founding partner of Marshall Wace, Paul Marshall, will acquire the Spectator from Abu Dhabi-backed RedBird IMI for GBP 100 mn (USD 131 mn), Bloomberg reports, citing a statement from Marshall’s media company Old Queen Street Ventures.
Talks between the two parties progressed last month, with Marshall’s bid initially valuing the publication at USD 100 mn. Interest in the Spectator and Telegraph papers has been “extremely strong,” a RedBird IMI spokesperson said in June, stating that the firm has been in talks with “several interested parties,” including Daily Mail owner DMGT, Belgian Group Mediahuis, and National World.
Marshall has big plans for The Spectator: The hedge fund owner plans to address what he described as an “underinvestment” in the UK paper, focusing on “expanding the magazine’s reach in the Anglosphere and in North America,” according to the statement.
REMEMBER- RedBird IMI wants to recoup its losses: RedBird IMI, a JV between Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s International Media Investments and RedBird Capital Partners, was looking to sell the papers to recoup the GBP 600 mn invested last year to acquire the assets, before the takeover bid fell through.
What’s next for the Telegraph? The Telegraph will now be sold separately, with Marshall’s acquisition of the Spectator removing the magazine from the Telegraph bidding. A previous source had suggested Marshall is unlikely to be the final buyer for the Telegraph.
