Guardian Confirms Sale of The Observer to Tortoise Media

The Observer, a British Sunday newspaper that has been operating for greater than two centuries, might be bought to the digital media start-up Tortoise Media, the publication’s proprietor, the Guardian Media Group, stated Friday, regardless of workers protests.

The boards of the Guardian Media Group, which additionally publishes The Guardian, and the Scott Trust, the proprietor of the Guardian Media Group, have agreed “in precept” to the deal, which is anticipated to be signed within the subsequent few days. The announcement got here shortly after journalists on the two information shops waged a 48-hour strike, calling the deal “rushed” and a threat to the journalism of each newspapers.

The Guardian’s father or mother firm, which purchased The Observer in 1993, didn’t disclose the sale worth. But it stated the Scott Trust, a 1.3 billion-pound ($1.7 billion) fund, would spend money on Tortoise Media and develop into one among its largest shareholders. The belief can even have representatives on the corporate and editorial boards of Tortoise Media, which stated it had raised £25 million to spend money on The Observer.

“We knew we wanted the precise mixture of assets and dedication to construct a brand new platform for The Observer,” Ole Jacob Sunde, the chair of the Scott Trust, stated in an announcement. “It required an ally to be sufficiently funded, long-term in nature, and respect editorial independence and liberal values. I imagine we now have discovered this in Tortoise Media.”

When the proposed sale got here to gentle in September, it was a shock to the papers’ journalists, who raised considerations concerning the potential of Tortoise Media, a six-year-old firm that has not recorded a revenue, to protect the way forward for The Observer.

Amid stress from the workers to rethink the deal, the Scott Trust pushed to have some say within the editorial path of The Observer after the sale. Journalists at each newspapers walked off the job on Wednesday and Thursday, hoping to delay the deal. It was the primary strike within the newsroom in additional than 50 years.