Financial Times journalist Matthew Garrahan is leaving the title after almost 30 years to join Redbird Capital Partners amid its takeover of The Telegraph.
Garrahan has been hired as operating partner, news and entertainment at Redbird, based in London.
The US-based private investment firm Redbird said he will be working across its global news and media portfolio, drawing from his “significant industry expertise” to support its growth.
Earlier this year Redbird agreed to take over Telegraph Media Group but the process has not yet concluded. Sky News reported last month that Redbird was submitting its detailed proposals for the deal to the Government so Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy could decide whether to carry out an investigation into the plan.
Redbird is in talks with UK-based investors to take minority stakes in The Telegraph as part of the £500m deal. These are reported to include Daily Mail owner Lord Rothermere and DAZN sports streaming owner Sir Leonard Blavatnik.
In 2023 Redbird was originally set to take a minority stake in Telegraph Media Group in a deal led by International Media Investments (IMI), which is backed by the Abu Dhabi government, but the previous UK Conservative government changed the law so foreign state investors can no longer own a significant part of a UK newspaper. IMI now intends to own 15%, the maximum allowed, of The Telegraph.
[Read more: Foreign state-owned investors cleared to hold 15% stake in UK newspapers]
Garrahan said: “I’m excited to be joining Redbird at this formative period for the news and media industry. Redbird’s portfolio positions it as a leader in driving the transition of news brands as they navigate the challenges, and ultimately the opportunities, presented by changing technology and the evolution of consumer media consumption habits.
“Redbird has a great track record of integrating operating partners into their investments across the portfolio and I am looking forward to bringing my years of experience at the FT to this exciting new role.”
As well as The Telegraph, Redbird’s interests in the UK include TV producer All3Media, Liverpool FC, Fulwell Entertainment and Channel 5 (as a result of the recent merger between Paramount and Skydance, also bringing CBS News and The Free Press into the portfolio).
Garrahan spent four years as FT news editor until November 2022 when he was appointed head of digital platforms and strategy. This year he has also conducted fortnightly interviews with public figures including the CEOs of Sky, Mattel and Octopus Energy.
Garrahan joined the FT as companies reporter in 1998 and went on to cover the sports, business and leisure industries.
He moved to Los Angeles in 2006 to report on the California economy, Hollywood and digital media, including the emergence of social media giants like Facebook and Twitter.
He became global media editor based in New York in 2014 and returned to London in 2017.
Garrahan won the Arts and Entertainment prize at Press Gazette’s British Journalism Awards 2018 for revealing the complicity of leading legal firms in the cover-up of the Harvey Weinstein scandal.
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