Draft:International Media Investments

International Media Investments is a state-funded private investment company of the United Arab Emirates and its Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

RedBird IMI
In 2022, IMI formalized a partnership with RedBird, an American investment management firm active in several tertiary sectors such as consumer goods, financial services, telecommunications, media, technology, and sports, with assets under management of over $10 billion (2022). The partnership, which includes former CNN Chief Executive Jeff Zucker and COP28 President Sultan Al-Jaber among its leadership, allows IMI to invest in RedBird's sports and entertainment properties.

The Telegraph and The Spectator takeover bid
In November 2023, reports emerged that RedBird IMI were ready to make a significant investment in two major UK news titles owned by the Barclay family: The Telegraph and The Spectator. These reports were met with significant resistance from Conservative Party MPs, and culture secretary Lucy Frazer issued a public interest intervention notice on 30 November preventing the group from taking over without further scrutiny from the media regulator Ofcom over potential breaches of media standards. In March 2024, the UK Government signalled that it would move to block the takeover, with Culture Minister Lord Parkinson announcing an amendment to the third reading of the Digital Markets Act, which would "explicitly rule out newspaper and periodical news magazine mergers involving ownership, influence or control by foreign states." In response, a spokesperson from RedBird IMI stated that they were "extremely disappointed" by the decision, adding that "to date, RedBird IMI has made six investments across the U.K. and U.S., and we believed the U.K.’s media environment was worthy of further investment”, and that the company would “now evaluate our next steps.”

Investments

 * The National, an English-language daily newspaper published in Abu Dhabi. IMI acquired The National from the Government of Abu Dhabi in 2016.
 * Euronews, a European television news network, headquartered in Brussels. IMI acquired a minority stake in Euronews in 2018.