Plans to sell Telegraph are cleared by Hollinger board

LONDON - Hollinger International yesterday cleared plans to sell off The Daily Telegraph and its other UK assets at a board meeting.

Plans to sell Telegraph are cleared by Hollinger board

The news came after confirmation that German publishing giant Axel Springer had withdrawn from the auction after it refused to up its offer for the titles.

Investment bank Lazard is reported to have said that successful bids for the Telegraph Group, which also includes The Sunday Telegraph and The Spectator magazine, would have to reach at least £600m.

Axel Springer is reported to have made a final offer of around £550m and it is believed the price could rise as high as £700m.

The withdrawal is thought to leave four bidders in the race: the Barclay brothers, owners of The Scotsman and The Business; Daily Mail & General Trust; venture capitalist group 3i; and a joint effort between buy-out firms Apax and Candover Investments.

In a statement, Chicago-based Hollinger International said that the board had considered a number of options and would focus on possible sales in the UK, but would seek the best deal possible.

Gordon Paris, the Hollinger International interim CEO, said: "The company is not compelled to complete a transaction, and will only do so on terms that are in the best interest of shareholders."

The sale of the UK titles could draw a line under part of the story as Lord Conrad Black faces charges for $32m (£17.4m) in unauthorised payments. He has since been accused of "racketeering" in a lawsuit seeking more than $1bn in damages.

At a press conference in Toronto yesterday, Lord Black said that he would be responding to the law suit within the next couple of weeks.

It now looks likely that Hollinger's international titles, including The Chicago Sun-Times and The Jerusalem Post, will be sold off separately.

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