Telegraph takeover by German buyer cleared by culture secretary

Lisa Nandy says there are no grounds to refer Axel Springer deal to Ofcom, ending almost three years of uncertainty for titles The culture secretary has cleared Axel Springer’s £575m takeover of the Telegraph, paving the way for the end of almost three years of uncertainty over the ownership of the titles. Lisa Nandy said that she does not believe there are grounds to intervene and refer the deal to the media regulator, Ofcom, for an in-depth regulatory investigation. The culture secretary has the power to call in mergers for further scrutiny on public interest grounds, as well as the new foreign state influence regime. “I am currently not minded to intervene in this merger under either regime on the basis of the evidence available to me at this time,” she said. “This is without prejudice to my ability to intervene in this merger within the applicable statutory time limits, if new or additional information comes to my attention.” While the deal remains subject to regulatory approvals in Ireland and Austria, Axel Springer said that the expected all-clear in the UK means it expects to complete the deal by the end of June. “We are pleased to have received UK government approval to pro