UAE pledges unrivalled investment in The Telegraph

THE United Arab Emirates has pledged unmatchable investment in The Telegraph if its planned takeover is allowed, in its first public comments on the controversy over its potential threat to press freedom.

Writing in The Telegraph, Rani Raad, the chief executive of International Media Investments (IMI), the UAE company providing 75 per cent of the funding for RedBird IMI’s planned deal, said that “any other bid simply cannot offer anything like the financial security and investment we can”. Rival bidders, including a consortium of the hedge fund billionaires Sir Paul Marshall and Ken Griffin, and the publisher of The Daily Mail, remain interested in buying

The Telegraph if RedBird IMI’s debt deal with the Barclay family fails.

Mr Raad added: “RedBird IMI intends to grow The Telegraph brand precisely at a time when in the UK and the US the media industry seems to be in a spiral of retreat, redundancies, and spending cuts. To be clear: as media owners, we will be doing the opposite, which must surely be welcome news to the management and staff of The Telegraph.”

Despite its wealth, senior editorial managers and writers have raised concerns over the involvement of IMI, which is effectively an arm of the state. It is controlled by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the vice-president of the UAE and owner of Manchester City.

The proposed takeover is in limbo pending an investigation of its potential threat to the public interest by Ofcom. The media regulator is scheduled to deliver its report to the Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer by 11 March.

She could then order months of further investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which could lead to the deal being blocked.

Mr Raad, a former CNN executive and close ally of Jeff Zucker, the head of RedBird IMI, again set out undertakings which they argue will protect The

Telegraph from any UAE interference. They include an editorial trust board and legal guarantees that IMI will be a passive investor only. RedBird, a US private equity firm providing 25 per cent of the £600million price, would be responsible for the management of The Telegraph.

Mr Raad said that The Times editorial board, established when Rupert Murdoch bought the newspaper in 1981 and intended to protect it from his influence, was viewed as ineffective until it was scrapped in 2022. But he argued that the Telegraph editorial trust board would have powers backed by the law.

IMI is not going to get involved with what the newspaper reports and intends to grow the brand

The motives of the people who own national newspapers matter more than ever at a time where there are legitimate fears about a post-truth world and alternative facts.

That is even more the case when those newspapers have the history and status of and

The Telegraph The Spectator.

Each has always had a strong, independent voice, ready, willing and able to hold the rich and the powerful to account. Their printing presses have run throughout many wars and countless government crises. The

Telegraph is credited with having the scoop of the 20th century, by effectively revealing the outbreak of the Second World War when a correspondent spotted German tanks massing on the Polish border. More recently, it rocked the establishment by exposing the Parliamentary expenses scandal.

So, it is right that when RedBird IMI announced that it wanted to buy the titles, questions were raised. However, there have been several significant misconceptions about the deal and the motives behind it.

Much of the attention has focused on International Media Investments (IMI) – a company from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). As the chief executive of IMI, I would like to introduce myself, answer those concerns and set the record straight.

We are clear about what stays the same if our bid is successful: the independence, editorial integrity, and point of view of all the titles is beyond question. I can go further: the quality of the journalism and the titles are inviolable.

I am a 47-year-old British citizen. I have lived more than half of my adult life in the UK – I know a vibrant, robust and free press is a core part of British public life.

In my previous role as president of CNN Worldwide Commercial, I fought against government and commercial pressure and influence. I am no stranger to these battles to protect the integrity of journalism.

For me it is precisely the distinctive editorial focus and the fearless journalism that make The Telegraph titles so attractive to RedBird IMI. We see a successful business, requiring more investment to reach even greater heights.

We have no doubt there is an attractive wider audience willing to consume this journalism. That is why we want to invest to expand the global reach of its bold centre-Right viewpoint, its quality reporting and sharp analysis – while building on its world-beating coverage of culture, sport, travel, and lifestyle.

RedBird IMI intends to grow The Telegraph brand precisely at a time when in Britain and America the media industry seems to be in a spiral of retreat, redundancies, and spending cuts. A recent survey by Press Gazette found that last year there were nearly 8,000 job losses in journalism in the UK, United States and Canada.

To be clear: as media owners, we will be doing just the opposite, which must surely be welcome news to the management and staff of The

Telegraph. Any other bid simply cannot offer anything like the financial security and investment we can.

So let me address the elephant in the living room. At IMI we are not going to get involved in what The Telegraph reports or chooses not to write about. It would not make any sense for us to do so. People will be watching like hawks for any hint of inappropriate interference.

But you need more than my word on this vital matter. We all know that in the past promises were made, only to be broken almost before the ink on the newsprint was dry.

We are going further than anyone has before, with legally binding, enforceable, rigorous protections to the Government, regulators, journalists, and of course – the most important – you the reader.

We have committed to setting up an independent Editorial Trust for The

Telegraph, which represents the strongest protections for any UK newspaper, ever. Yes, we have learnt the lessons of News Corp, when promises were made that were never fully kept about The Times. Ours meet the far higher standard of enforceability.

We have also made binding legal undertakings to the Government that

‘The rules mean we would not be allowed to influence editorial decisions, whether directly or indirectly’ IMI will always be a purely passive investor, and we have set up a new UK-based company to own The

Telegraph. In simple words: the rules mean we would not be allowed to influence editorial decisions, whether directly or indirectly.

The Telegraph is part of the fabric of British life and our deal needs to be scrutinised fairly, without bias or prejudice. We are confident in the inquiry, the regulator and the Government’s ability to see the wisdom of this deal and its great promise. We will continue to co-operate with the regulator and the Government every step of the way, as we have done from the start. That’s why we have already taken steps to address their concerns as and when they have arisen.

We may not change everyone’s mind, but please judge RedBird IMI by its actions.

The commitment I make is that we will be a responsible steward of these great titles. Why? Because good journalism and a free press demands it.

International Media Investments(IMI) was established in Abu Dhabi in the UAE