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The Barclay family has repaid the nearly £1.2 billion that it owed to Lloyds Banking Group PLC, opening up its chance to transfer control of the Telegraph newspaper to an Abu Dhabi-backed fund. Lloyds confirmed that it had received the money on Monday, after seizing control of Telegraph Media Group in June over the unpaid debt. It then tried to sell the newspaper group, which also owns the Spectator. Lloyds said the debt of Penultimate Investments Holding Ltd, the holding company, had been repaid. ‘We can confirm the repayment of the PIHL facilities has now completed,’ it said. ‘We are always keen to work constructively with customers who get into difficulty with their repayments to reach an amicable solution. ‘We’d like to thank all parties for their role in reaching this point.’ The Barclays had last month reached a deal with RedBird IMI to get help to pay back the debts. RedBird IMI would then take over control of the newspaper group. RedBird IMI is led by the former boss of CNN, Jeff Zucker. It is part owned by US firm RedBird Capital. But it is the other joint owner, International Media Investments of Abu Dhabi, which has worried the government. Last week the UK Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer, asked watchdog Ofcom to launch a probe into whether the sale to RedBird IMI would impact the accurate presentation of news and freedom of expression in the Telegraph titles. Frazer said ‘there may be public interest considerations’ with the change of ownership which ‘warrant further investigation’. The regulator has until January 26 next year to report back to the minister. RedBird IMI said that it would ‘co-operate fully with the government and regulator’. source: PA Copyright 2023 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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