LONDON — Gulf states are extending their influence in the UK media landscape. The Daily Mail and General Trust, an influential British newspaper group, is reportedly in talks with Qatari investors to support a combined bid for its rival Telegraph Media Group.
DMGT, which owns the Daily Mail, the i and Metro newspapers, is working to finance a bid for TMG in a deal that could cost more than 500 million pounds ($624 million), the Financial Times reported Friday.
TMG includes both The Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph newspapers and The Spectator magazine. All are right-wing outlets with strong links to the ruling Conservative UK government, and former Prime Minister Boris Johnson famously worked for The Telegraph and The Spectator.
The auction of TMG is expected to start in the coming weeks, and the British press is reporting Goldman Sachs and Lazard are involved in leading the sale.
