• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, November 17, 2025

RedBird Capital Partners has cancelled its purchase of the U.K.’s The Daily Telegraph for $674 million — reportedly after negative stories by the Telegraph and newsroom opposition. 

Reuters reported there was “sustained internal opposition from senior figures within the Telegraph newsroom,” and BBC cited “negative articles toward the bid from the current Telegraph newsroom.”

That sounds plausible, but it cannot be the whole story. 

Not that we’re recommending this, but there is a way to deal with newsroom protests. Bring in a new editor who will bully the staff and drive people out. If reporters object to the Telegraph’s conservatism, hire a liberal editor. 

Still, we wonder – did RedBird do additional due diligence and decide that it didn’t want the Telegraph after all? 

This is a long-running story. RedBird announced it was buying the Telegraph two years ago, but the law had changed so that foreign companies — RedBird is American — could not buy British publications. That rule was later made more flexible.  

At the time, RedBird said it would invest in the Telegraph’s digital operations to drive subscriptions, analytics and AI tools.  

It also hoped to grow the brand internationally, especially in the U.S., where RedBird has a strategic presence across news, media and sports.

RedBird has substantial investments in U.K. media.

Meanwhile, Telegraph stakeholders are trying to reach another deal. 

As for RedBird, it issued this statement: “We remain fully confident that the Telegraph and its world-class team have a bright future ahead of them, and we will work hard to help secure a solution which is in the best interests of employees and readers.”

There may be other twists in this saga by the time you read this.