Lord Rothermere to Take Daily Mail Publisher Private

The takeover effort, spearheaded by Jonathan Harmsworth—also known by his aristocratic title Viscount Rothermere—succeeded despite opposition from some shareholders who said the offer undervalued the company. That prompted the Rothermeres to increase the value of their bid and lower the threshold of shareholder support needed for the takeover to proceed to 50%.

Ahead of Thursday’s deadline, shareholders representing 63% of DMGT’s stock accepted the offer, which valued the company at about £885 million, equivalent to $1.17 billion, including debt. Shareholders will also receive a special dividend and shares in the online car retailer Cazoo Group Ltd. , in which DGMT owns a stake.

The move by the Rothermeres, who already owned 34% of the London-based company, follows a significant restructuring of DMGT’s operations in recent years and changes among newsroom chiefs in the past month.

The company has sold off a range of business-to-business units and investments—spanning insurance, real estate and education—that had previously helped to offset the volatility of its media operations. That left the company focused on consumer media and with a pile of cash.

Following discussions with the board about what the company should do with the funds, Mr. Harmsworth decided to make an offer to take DMGT private. He filed an initial offer of 251 pence per share in July, before raising it to 270 pence per share in December.

The move will further consolidate the U.K. newspaper landscape among a few tycoons. With a print circulation of close to one million copies a day, the Daily Mail remains one of the most influential news sources in the U.K. The 125-year-old paper tends to strike a conservative and populist tone.

Meanwhile, its news site—known in the U.S. as DailyMail.com and in the U.K. as MailOnline—has become a top-ranking online presence in America and elsewhere due to its popular celebrity coverage.

The website’s share of the company’s revenues has steadily increased in recent years as it hoovers up more ad dollars and print sales decline. While some newspapers, including The Wall Street Journal, charge for digital subscriptions, the Daily Mail’s website continues to be free. The website is run as a separate business with its own reporters and is aimed at a younger audience than the print newspaper.

In recent weeks, the company has announced changes among its top editors. In November, it said Geordie Greig, the editor of the Daily Mail newspaper, would be replaced by Ted Verity, the editor of its Sunday edition. Shortly after, Martin Clark, the mastermind of the Mail’s digital expansion, said he would step down in February.

Write to Nick Kostov at [email protected]