Abu Dhabi’s RedBird IMI makes clean exit from the Telegraph as Axel Springer swoops in: German media giant Axel Springer struck a GBP 575 mn allcash agreement with RedBird IMI — a JV between US private equity firm RedBird Capital and Abu Dhabi’s IMI — to acquire the UK’s Telegraph Media Group, according to a joint press release.

ICYMI- The move, which signals a preference for a swift exit over a protracted regulatory battle, scraps a prior GBP 500 mn arrangement that would have seen Daily Mail owner DMGT buy the broadsheet along with RedBird IMI and which was still undergoing regulatory probes. The structure emerged after the Abu Dhabi-backed JV was forced to shift from being a bidder to a seller following a regulatory block on foreign state-backed ownership of UK newspapers.

ADVISORS- LionTree is acting as financial advisor to Axel Springer, while Freshfields is providing counsel.

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