Former Conservative chancellor Nadhim Zahawi is plotting a £600 million bid for The Telegraph Media Group, owner of right-wing publications The Daily Telegraph and The Spectator, according to a Sky News report.
Quoting “City sources”, Sky said that Zahawi has approached numerous billionaire backers in order to secure financing for the bid. Property tycoons the Reuben Brothers were cited by Sky as potential bidders.
The matter of the Telegraph’s ownership has been a long-running source of drama.
UAE-backed consortium Redbird IMI attempted to wrest control of The Telegraph in a convoluted debt deal with former owners the Barclay Brothers last year.
Lloyd’s took the newspaper into receivership after the Barclays failed to make interest repayments on their borrowings with the bank.
These plans were thwarted by the former Tory government following an outcry from Conservative supporters over the prospect of foreign influence over the pro-Tory paper.
Murdoch and the Rothermere’s Daily Mail were also named as potential bidders, while private equity firm CVC recently emerged as another potential bidder.
According to reports, Zahawi is in discussions with International Media Investments (the IMI in Redbird IMI) regarding a bid.
With more and more names being added to the pile of prospective Telegraph owers, the drama shows no signs of subsiding any time soon.