Former Daily Mirror City Slicker Anil Bhoyrul was in understandably buoyant mood on Monday when, on the arabianbusiness.com website, he broke the story that Manchester City Football Club had been bought by the Abu Dhabi United Group for Investment and Development (ADUG).
Not only did he secure a great scoop, he also scored an important – and probably embarrassing – victory over the recently launched Abu Dhabi-based daily The National, edited by Martin Newland.
ADUG is an investment vehicle funded by members of the Abu Dhabi royal family, as is the Abu Dhabi Media Company, which owns The National.
When Axegrinder asked Bhoyrul, editorial director of Dubai-based publisher ITP, if beating Newland’s paper to the story gave him special satisfaction, he was dismissive of any suggestion that publication should be considered a rival. ‘I thought The National only published press releases,’he replied cheekily.
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