Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LSE:LLOY) has rebuffed another £1 billion Abu Dhabi-backed attempt by the Barclay family to reclaim the Telegraph Group, according to a Financial Times report published on Thursday.
Lloyds took the Telegraph Group, publisher of The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph and The Spectator, into receivership in June after calling in loans due from the Barclay brothers’ holding company.
Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) has been hired to run the competitive auction.
The Barclays have since attempted to retake the group by paying down the debt, sourcing financial backing from Abu Dhabi investors.
Lloyds has rejected such offers, preferring to continue with an open auction to determine the publisher’s true market value.
Though the auction is expected to close lower than the £1 billion offered by the Barclays, Lloyds and Goldman have been wary of accepting such a deal for the right-wing British broadsheet, fearing prolonged regulatory investigations.
At the time of receivership, Lloyds said it “was willing to continue discussions to find a suitable solution", leaving the window open for the Barclays to resume control if the outstanding loan is repaid.
But Lloyds and Goldman have been unimpressed with the offers, and the competitive auction is pressing ahead.
Named bidders include Paul Marshall, the Daily Mail and German publisher Axel Springer.
Despite the ownership black hole, Telegraph Media Group has had a solid trading year, with a 16% increase in underlying earnings and a 20% increase in operating profit (pre-exceptional times) to £33.3 million penned in July.