Six bidders make final deadline in battle for Telegraph

LONDON - Stockbroker Collins Stewart and 3i became the latest bidders to beat the 5pm deadline in the race for control of the Telegraph Group yesterday.

Six bidders make final deadline in battle for Telegraph

Other bidders include Richard Desmond's Northern & Shell, Viscount Rothmere's Daily Mail & General Trust and venture capital firms Candover Investments and Apax Partners.

Merchant bank Lazards, which is holding the auction on behalf of the Hollinger International board, would not disclose how many bids have been received in total. Some are believed to be as high as £500m.

The Barclay brothers, who own The Business and several Scottish newspapers, have already signed a £260m takeover deal for the Telegraph titles, which include The Daily and Sunday Telegraph and The Spectator. However the deal with Hollinger Inc -- controlled by Lord Conrad Black -- is being challenged by Hollinger International.

The bids by DMGT and Northern & Shell will both likely come under close regulatory scrutiny.

Many of the big US groups have expressed an interest in Hollinger's North-American assets, which include the Chicago Sun-Times, with The Washington Post Group and The New York Times Company expected to bid.

If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the debate in the .

Topics

Market Reports

Get unprecedented new-business intelligence with access to ±±¾©Èü³µpk10’s new Market Reports.

Find out more

Enjoying ±±¾©Èü³µpk10’s content?

 Get unlimited access to ±±¾©Èü³µpk10’s premium content for your whole company with a corporate licence.

Upgrade access

Looking for a new job?

Get the latest creative jobs in advertising, media, marketing and digital delivered directly to your inbox each day.

Create an alert now

Partner content