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Mediahuis, the European media group, is expected to fall out of the auction to acquire the Telegraph newspaper as RedBird IMI whittles down a shortlist of potential buyers for the next round of bidding.
The bid from Mediahuis, the Belgium-based media organisation that owns the Irish Independent and De Telegraaf, is unlikely to proceed to the second round of the process, according to people close to it.
Other potential buyers, including ad executive Lord Maurice Saatchi, have also fallen short of the valuation put on the newspaper by RedBird IMI, which wants to at least recoup its money from its now blocked £600mn takeover of the Telegraph and Spectator magazine.
Saatchi, who was bidding with Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild, offered £350mn plus further payments dependent on performance, which is far less than the more than £500mn target being sought by RedBird IMI for the newspaper. Saatchi “never made a serious bid”, according to RedBird IMI.
Despite the exit of several prominent interested parties — including Daily Mail owner Lord Rothermere — executives at RedBird IMI are increasingly confident that they will be able to at least cover their costs and potentially make profit on the deal.
Listed UK media group National World and hedge fund boss Paul Marshall were still involved in the process, the people added, alongside at least two other overseas investment groups.
A separate deal to sell the UK’s Spectator magazine is also proceeding quickly. Marshall, who also owns media group UnHerd and UK TV station GB News, is in exclusive talks to acquire the Spectator in a deal that could be worth more than £100mn, according to people close to the talks.
RedBird IMI was blocked from completing the deal to acquire the Telegraph after politicians raised concerns about a national newspaper being owned by a group backed by Abu Dhabi.
Senior Conservative figures including former chancellor Nadhim Zahawi have talked about helping lead investors in a consortium, according to a person familiar with the matter. Robey Warshaw and The Raine Group are advising on the sale.
The sale process is expected to continue into September, which will mean that the Telegraph and The Spectator have not had a settled ownership for more than a year since the Barclay family lost control of the titles. RedBird IMI acquired the right to buy the media assets after repaying the £1.1bn in debt owed to Lloyds Banking Group by the Barclays.
Mediahuis could not be reached for comment.
