The Abu Dhabi-backed vehicle which faces being thwarted in its bid to buy The Daily Telegraph is lining up advisers to determine the fate of the right-leaning British newspaper.
Sky News has learnt that Raine Group, which is best known in Britain for its roles in recent deals involving Manchester United and Chelsea football clubs, is to be appointed alongside Robey Warshaw to advise on the next phases of the Telegraph’s ownership.
Sources close to the Telegraph said the two firms’ appointments were expected to be finalised in the coming days.
Their roles are ultimately likely to lead to a further auction of the newspaper, its Sunday sister title and The Spectator magazine, but that is only expected to be formally decided following further talks between RedBird IMI and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
RedBird IMI is part-owned by US-based RedBird and majority-owned by Abu Dhabi’s IMI – which is backed by the UAE’s deputy prime minister and ultimate owner of Manchester City Football Club, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
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The firm owns a call option which was intended to convert a £600m debt into equity ownership of the British media assets.
That deal has been rendered impossible, however, by the government’s adoption of legislative changes to prevent any ownership of British national newspapers by investors connected to foreign states.
Lucy Frazer, the culture secretary, has also said she is minded to refer the RedBird IMI takeover of the Telegraph titles to an in-depth inquiry by the Competition and Markets Authority.
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