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Rothermere plots £810 million bid to take Daily Mail owner private

Date: July 13, 2021 Sunil Jha Sunil Jha
Rothermere plots £810 million bid to take Daily Mail owner private 
Lord Rothermere, a renowned British aristocrat and inheritor of a British newspaper and media empire, is reportedly planning to take the Daily Mail private in a transaction that could value the British newspaper group at approximately £810 million. The action would end the news publisher’s 90-year tenure as a publicly traded business on the London Stock Exchange.



The Rothermere family has made an offer to purchase the remaining 70% of the Daily Mail & General Trust (DMGT) business, which it does not already own. The proposal would provide Rothermere, who is also the chairman of the group, complete control of DMGT and remove it from the stock exchange.



On Monday, in a stock market announcement, the group stated that Rothermere Continuation Ltd (RCL), a holding company of Rothermere group which is registered in Bermuda, was considering a bid of 251p per share, valuing the firm at over £810 million.



The deal's cash proceeds, 610p per share, would be paid to DMGT shareholders in the form of a special dividend, together with the company's 16% ownership in Cazoo, a marketplace for used cars, that is preparing for an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange by merging with a blank cheque firm.



It would provide RCL at least £500 million, and would possible assist in funding any acquisition bid for the newspaper group's remaining assets.



It is envisaged that DMGT would cease to be listed in due time and re-register as a private company if the Possible Offer is made and becomes or is declared unconditional, DMGT stated in a statement to the London Stock Exchange.



DMGT went public in 1932, 10 years after it was founded to handle the Rothermere family's interests.



In recent years, it has hastened its restructuring by selling a 50% share in Euromoney, the B2B publisher, as well as other assets such as a holding in Zoopla, an online property marketplace.



Last year, for the first time in its 124-year history, the Daily Mail became the UK's most popular national daily newspaper. MailOnline, its online counterpart, is currently one of the most popular news websites on the internet.



Source credit: https://news.sky.com/story/rothermere-family-plots-810m-bid-to-take-daily-mail-publisher-private-12354079

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Sunil Jha

Sunil Jha has been a part of the content industry for close to two years. Having previously worked as a voice over artist and sportswriter, he now focuses on writing articles for newsorigins.com, across a slew of topics, ranging from technology to trade and finance. With a business-oriented educational background, Sunil brings forth the expertise of deep-dive research and a strategic approach in his write ups.