Lord Rothermere tightens grip on Mail group with Euromoney share give away
Lord Rothermere is set to tighten his control over Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) by returning all of DMGT’s shares in business media group Euromoney to shareholders.
The company said today that it would return its 49 per cent stake in Euromoney along with £200m of cash to certain DMGT shareholders.
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Rothermere, who already controls 100 per cent of the voting shares in DMGT, will boost his family’s stake in the non-voting shares from 24 per cent to 36 per cent.
The company said the distribution will increase DMGT’s portfolio focus and allows its management to spend more time on its core business.
It also said that it would resolve the discount that it believes is applied to DMGT’s market price due to the fact DMGT investors have an indirect holding in Euromoney via DMGT.
The share distribution will mean DMGT shareholders will hold their interest in Euromoney shares directly and will allow them to decide whether they want to retain an interest in Euromoney when it becomes independent of DMGT, the company said.
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DMGT chief executive Paul Zwillenberg reduced the company’s stake in Euromoney from 67 per cent to 49 per cent when he was appointed in 2016.
In June, long-serving Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre resigned, to be replaced by Mail on Sunday editor Geordie Greig.
The appointment of pro-remain Greig in place of forceful Brexiter Dacre was seen in some quarters of the media as Rothermere stamping his pro-remain views more firmly on the paper.
Separately, DMGT will also make £117m in cash available to its pension scheme.