A bid for The Daily Telegraph spearheaded by the owner of The New York Sun has raised the extraordinary possibility of a return to the British newspaper group for Conrad Black, its former proprietor.
Sky News can reveal that Lord Black – who is listed as a contributing editor to and founding director of the Sun on its website – has been touted by former colleagues as a possible backer of owner Dovid Efune’s offer for the right-leaning title.
One insider said on Thursday that the Telegraph‘s former owner “still loves” the newspaper and was likely, at the very least, to have been sounded out by Mr Efune about the viability of his proposed bid.
Lord Black ceased to be a member of the House of Lords earlier this year on the grounds of his non-attendance but retains his parliamentary title nevertheless.
He writes regular opinion pieces for The New York Sun, a digital title, including one this week which described the presidential debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris as “disappointing”.
For decades, Lord Black was a colossal figure in the newspaper industry both in Britain and beyond, overseeing titles at Hollinger International which included the Telegraph, The Jerusalem Post and the Chicago Sun-Times.
He acquired an initial stake in the Telegraph group in 1985, before gaining full control later that year.
In 2004, he fought a vigorous battle to retain control of the Telegraph but was denied permission to vote Hollinger’s shares against the Barclay brothers’ £665m takeover.
Lord Black, a Canadian-born British citizen, was convicted in 2007 of fraud and obstruction of justice, and spent three-and-a-half years in prison before being released.
He was pardoned by President Donald Trump in 2019, raising the prospect of a return to the House of Lords.
In its statement at the time about the decision to pardon the then peer, the White House said he was “entirely deserving” of clemency, and that he had attracted “broad support from many high-profile individuals who have vigorously vouched for his exceptional character”.
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It was unclear on Thursday whether Lord Black would play a formal role in Mr Efune’s bid, which is being backed by financial investors including Oaktree Capital.
Emails to Lord Black and Mr Efune did not receive a response.
The prospect of Lord Black’s involvement adds yet another twist to the 15-month battle for the future ownership of the Daily and Sunday Telegraph newspapers.
Earlier this week, The Spectator magazine – which had also been owned by the Barclay family before the titles’ parent companies were forced into insolvency by Lloyds Banking Group – was sold to Sir Paul Marshall for £100m.
Front page news about Conrad Black on a newspaper in London in 2004. Pic: Reuters
In an email to Telegraph staff seen by Sky News, Anna Jones, the publisher’s chief executive, wrote: “After the initial receivership in June last year, the sale of the Spectator was run as an independent process to our own.
“Both processes have been overseen by RedBird IMI and their external advisers.
“In terms of the TMG sale, myself and some of the executive team have recently met with prospective bidders for the business including National World (a UK publisher) and a US consortium (led by the publisher of the New York Sun, Dovid Efune) to give a management presentation which outlines our editorial, financial and commercial position.
“The process continues, and we understand there are other bidders involved in the process that have not yet been disclosed.
“For now, we do not know how long the next stage will take, but I will update you once I have more information.”
Sky News revealed Mr Efune’s involvement in the Telegraph auction on Wednesday evening, while Semafor, a US-based media outlet, disclosed the identities of his financial backers.
The Telegraph titles are expected to command a price of between £400m and £500m.
At the top end of that range, it would enable RedBird IMI to recoup the £600m it paid last year for the right to convert debt attached to the assets into outright ownership.
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A deadline for formal bids has been set for 27 September, with National World, the London-listed vehicle headed by David Montgomery, and Sir Paul Marshall – who this week paid £100m for The Spectator – also among the likely bidders.
Mr Efune had not been publicly linked to the process until this week, although industry sources said he first began exploring an offer when the original auction of the Telegraph titles kicked off last year.
The Telegraph auction is being orchestrated by Raine Group and Robey Warshaw, the advisers to RedBird IMI, the Abu Dhabi-backed entity which was thwarted in its efforts to buy the media titles by a change in ownership law.
A separate bid orchestrated by Nadhim Zahawi, the former chancellor, is the subject of bilateral discussions with IMI, the Abu Dhabi-based part of the joint venture with RedBird.
Sky News recently revealed that Mr Zahawi had sounded out Boris Johnson, the former prime minister, about an executive role with The Daily Telegraph if he succeeded in buying the newspapers.
The offices of the Telegraph Media Group in central London. Pic: PA
A number of unsuccessful bidders for the Telegraph have included Lord Saatchi, the former advertising mogul, who offered £350m, while Mediahuis, the Belgian publisher, also failed to make it through to the next round of the auction.
Lord Rothermere, the Daily Mail proprietor, pulled out of the bidding earlier in the summer amid concerns that he would be blocked on competition grounds.
IMI is controlled by the UAE’s deputy prime minister and ultimate owner of Manchester City Football Club, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
The Lloyds debt, which totalled more than £1.15bn, was repaid by RedBird IMI on behalf of the family.
RedBird IMI declined to comment.