Rival Bidders Prepare To Move On Telegraph Titles
The £260 million Barclay Brothers bid for the Telegraph titles looks set to be derailed as a range of rival bidders prepare to move on the global newspaper group headed by troubled media mogul Lord Black.
It is understood that Daily Mail & General Trust is preparing a substantial £500 million-plus bid for the Daily Telegraph and its Sunday sibling in an attempt to derail the deal clinched last week by the reclusive Barclay Brothers (see Barclay Brothers Agree Telegraph Takeover Deal).
A report in the Sunday Times claims that Richard Desmond also intends to swoop on the titles, and private equity group Candover looks likely to table an indicative offer of about £400 million. Former Trinity Mirror chief executive, David Montgomery, is also understood to be putting together a bid with venture capitalists 3i (see Big Guns Could Be Ruled Out Of Race For Telegraph Titles).
These new bids are much higher than the one put forward by the Barclay Brothers, who believe they have reached an “irrevocable” agreement to take control of Hollinger Inc its Telegraph titles.
Last week’s agreement gives the Barclay Brothers control of around 73% of voting rights in Hollinger International. However, the likelihood of the deal being completed now looks questionable and Hollinger International is believed to be considering a poison pill to bury the Barlcays’ bid completely.
Lazards, the investment bank handling the sale of Hollinger’s assets, is also reportedly preparing to challenge the validity of the deal. The group believes it can raise over £1 billion by breaking up Hollinger Inc, which also owns the Chicago Sun-Times and Jerusalem Post.
Black is keen to make sure he has the deciding vote on any potential sale and recently moved to change the company’s by-laws to require the unanimous consent of all Hollinger International directors on such matters. He is also taking out injunctions to protect his right to sell Hollinger Inc (see SEC Has Few Qualms About Hollinger Takeover).
Black’s surprise deal with the Barclay Brothers has fuelled tension between himself and his former colleagues. Last week Black was ousted as non-executive chairman of Hollinger Inc, which is launching legal proceedings against the media magnate for a series of alleged unauthorised payments.
Hollinger International: www.hollinger.com
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