Abu Dhabi's IMI Slams Ofcom Report on Telegraph Bid as Flawed and Biased

International Media Investments (IMI) has strongly refuted Ofcom’s report concerning RedBird IMI’s bid for The Telegraph, denouncing its methodology, reasoning, and conclusions as premature and unsupported by evidence. The report, released by UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, emerged following a prolonged takeover process for the British newspaper group, which ultimately saw it acquired by German media conglomerate Axel Springer in April. Ofcom's initial review was halted when Redbird IMI sold the newspaper group at a profit, yet the UK government proceeded to publish the report before the full review was complete.

IMI, the Abu Dhabi-based media entity that was part of the joint venture with RedBird for The Telegraph bid, issued a statement criticizing the regulator's investigation and asserting the editorial independence of its own media titles, which include The National and Sky News Arabia. In its Friday statement, IMI declared: "Ofcom was tasked with assessing a commercial media company. It failed to do so. In an astonishing admission written into the report itself, Ofcom states that it was ‘not necessary to rely on information about the reported past behaviour of IMI associated businesses’. In plain English: a public regulator tasked with evaluating IMI admitted on the record that it ignored IMI’s actual track record to reach its verdict."

Adding to IMI's criticism of the report's publication, a prominent British business leader and politician commented, "Britain cannot spend half its time courting investment from the Gulf and the other half putting up barriers when that investment arrives," stated billionaire property developer Nick Candy, treasurer of the Reform Party, in an interview with The National. "The Government's handling of the RedBird IMI deal was a total disaster and a missed opportunity for British business, and revisiting a two-year-old report now only serves to undermine international investor confidence further. If we want Britain to be taken seriously as a destination for global capital, we need to start acting like it."

IMI further accused Ofcom of employing "an arbitrary and biased set of assumptions, conflating the commercial interests of a private company with the conduct of a sovereign state." The company emphasized, "It is not the role of a British media regulator to adjudicate the laws and governance of foreign nations." IMI highlighted that Ofcom "gave no weight" to the company’s legally binding undertakings, particularly its commitment never to influence The Telegraph’s editorial decisions. An Independent Editorial Trust was established with veto power over the appointment and removal of The Telegraph’s Editor-in-Chief. Notably, Ofcom's report did not make any findings of editorial interference against IMI.

Ofcom acknowledged The National's strong compliance record with the Editors’ Code of Practice, confirming no IPSO rulings against it and that all historical allegations concerning its newsroom predated IMI’s ownership. Furthermore, Ofcom "admits that there appears to be a viable commercial incentive and rationale for RedBird IMI’s acquisition of the Telegraph." IMI also took issue with the presentation of the Ofcom report, stating, "Regulatory decisions in British media have historically been decided on conduct, binding commitments, and commercial incentives. The RedBird IMI bid was not judged on the facts or on IMI’s track record. It was judged on its origin and not its conduct. IMI encourages investors to read the report thoroughly. Allegations are not findings. Association is not control. Speculation is not evidence. IMI rejects any suggestion that it has ever interfered, or would ever interfere, in the editorial independence of its media outlets."