In it, he mentioned the transaction must meet 5 standards for it to be permitted by the Scott Belief board, together with for it “to stay on as a part-owner of The Observer”.
Studies on the weekend prompt that it will take a small stake in Tortoise itself to fulfil that requirement.
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Mr Sunde additionally mentioned that The Observer would wish to have “secure and sustainable long-term funding”; different homeowners of the 233-year-old Sunday title would have “to take a long-term view of their investment”; and all homeowners must “embody the values of editorial independence, press freedoms and liberal journalism that have been part of the Observer’s ethos since we bought it in 1993”.
His message got here earlier than scores of Guardian workers are anticipated to strike for the primary time in many years in protest on the sale.
Anna Bateson, the Guardian Media Group (GMG) chief government who’s coming beneath more and more intense criticism over the deal, mentioned that journalists who didn’t want to switch to Tortoise Media could be provided a “time-limited” voluntary redundancy scheme.
She mentioned that “enhanced redundancy terms would be maintained post-transfer for a period still being negotiated”.
Final week, Dale Vince, the eco-entrepreneur, confirmed he could be desirous about investing in The Observer if the sale to Tortoise Media fell by means of.
The primary in a sequence of two-day strikes is because of start on Wednesday, with some division heads who’re union members mentioned to really feel conflicted over the strike motion.
Ms Bateson insisted: “Our priority has always been to preserve the Observer’s 233-year legacy and ensure the proposed agreement is as strong as it can be for staff, readers and the future of liberal journalism.”
Nevertheless, that pledge has already been examined by the resignation of Jay Rayner, The Observer’s long-serving restaurant critic.
A Scott Belief spokesperson declined to remark.
