Lord Rothermere Tables Knock-Out £700 Million Telegraph Bid
Lord Rothermere’s Daily Mail & General Trust is believed to have taken the lead in the race to seize control of the Telegraph titles with a seemingly unbeatable cash bid approaching £700 million.
It is understood that the newspaper group took pole position over its two rivals – the Barclay brothers and 3i – after last week’s deadline for final bids raised the stakes for those left in the running (see Telegraph Bids Go Head To Head In Final Furlong).
According to a report in today’s Times, a senior source close to Hollinger International, which publishes the Telegraph titles, said last night that Lord Rothermere was close to clinching control of the newspaper group.
Those close to the auction process, which is being run by investment bank Lazards, noted that DMGT executives were in a more ‘optimistic’ mood after teaming up with venture capital groups Candover Investments and Apax partners.
The partnership with the private equity groups means that DMGT will no longer have to hold an emergency sale of the Telegraph titles if its bid is blocked by the competition authorities. It also gave the newspaper group the extra fire power to significantly increase its bid.
Reports suggest the two bidding rivals to DMGT concede privately that the group would have been able to put in a powerful bid in excess of £650 million. It is believed that Lord Rothermere yesterday table an offer closer to the £700 million mark.
The majority media analysts appear convinced that a successful bid by DMGT would face full investigation by the competition authorities, which could take up to six months with no certainty that it would get the go ahead.
DMGT’s position in the race for the Telegraph titles looked increasingly strong yesterday after the newspaper group revealed a positive set of interim results showing rises in both profits and advertising revenue in the six months to April (see DMGT Sees Revenues Rise In Positive First Half).
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