DAILY MAIL and General Trust (DMGT) and the Rothermeres have agreed a recommended cash offer worth 255p for each share, along with a special dividend worth 991p a share.

The Rothermere family announced in the summer that it was considering an £810m bid to take the group private, giving chairman Lord Rothermere full control of DMGT.

This proposal was dependent on selling DMGT's RMS insurance business and the flotation of online car seller Cazoo on the New York Stock Exchange, which have now both been completed, despite delays.

Alongside the recommended cash offer, Rothermere Continuation (a Jersey-registered holding company) and DMGT have agreed that shareholders should get 568p in cash, plus 0.5749 Cazoo shares for each DMGT Share, through the special dividend.

DMGT, which also publishes the Daily Mail and Mail Online, as well as the Metro, said an agreement has been reached with its pension trustees over the deal.

A £412m cash payment will be made into the main DMGT pension scheme, along with restrictions on future debt levels and dividends.

Tim Burt, Vice Chairman at Teneo and expert in M&A, said that this agreement has created significant value for the group, and "derisks them from the volatility of the media industry" by making the company private. It is expected that the minority shareholders will make a decision whether to accept or decline the recommended acquisition offer by Rothermere Continuation in the next few weeks.

Burt emphasises that the privatisation of the Daily Mail group is unlikely to impact the content of their papers, or have any notable difference to its reads.

The news also comes alongside reports that Paul Dacre has finally departed from his role at Associated Newspapers, Daily Mail's parent company. Dacre stood down as editor in 2018, but remained on the pay roll, working largely in honorific positions.

(c) 2021 City A.M., source Newspaper