Nadhim Zahawi, a former chancellor of the Conservative Party, is leading a proposal to acquire The Daily Telegraph. Sir Mohamed Mansour, who was the treasurer of the Conservative Party, has been approached about providing his support for this endeavour.
There are a number of affluent individuals who have been contacted regarding the possibility of contributing to the funding of an offer for the broadsheet daily. One of these individuals is Sir Mohamed, who possesses dual citizenship in both the United Kingdom and Egypt.
On Friday, different sources said that Mr. Zahawi was confident about the prospect of making a competitive offer for the Telegraph over the next few weeks.
It was not obvious whether Sir Mohamed would take part in the offer; nevertheless, according to one source, a commitment of roughly 150 million pounds had been considered.
By the end of the previous month, it became public knowledge that Mr. Zahawi had been pursuing Boris Johnson, the former Prime Minister, for an executive position with the Telegraph titles, possibly in the capacity of the titles’ worldwide editor-in-chief.
Mr. Zahawi stated that “I’ve always said publicly, it would be an incredible honour for me, a real privilege if I were ever to chair the Telegraph [or] be involved with it.”
During the course of the conversation, he denied making any comments regarding the specifics of his intended bid.
Mr. Zahawi has engaged in discussions with various billionaires, including members of the Reuben family, who are prominent property magnates and hold a stake in Newcastle United Football Club.
The previous chancellor is engaging in direct negotiations with Gulf-based IMI, which holds the majority stake in RedBird IMI, the entity currently managing the formal auction process.
Efforts to contact Mr. Zahawi for commentary on Friday were unsuccessful, and a representative for Sir Mohamed opted not to provide a statement.
Sir Mohamed, having contributed millions of pounds to the Conservative Party, received his knighthood earlier this year—a decision that faced significant criticism from opponents of the honours system.
Man Capital, his family office, holds the position of the second-largest shareholder in the coffee shop chain Caffe Nero. Additionally, he possesses San Diego FC, a new Major League Soccer franchise set to debut next year.
The London-based billionaire served as the senior treasurer for the Conservative Party from late 2022 through the recent general election.
The potential association with Mr. Zahawi’s Telegraph bid is emerging as advisers managing the newspaper’s sale are set to receive formal offers later this month.
According to a report, he has introduced the remarkable possibility for Conrad Black, its former owner, to re-join the British newspaper group.
Lord Black, having lost his membership in the House of Lords earlier this year due to non-attendance, consistently contributes opinion pieces for the digital publication and was a founding director of its publisher.
For many years, Lord Black represented a significant presence in the newspaper sector, both in the UK and internationally, managing publications under Hollinger International such as the Telegraph, The Jerusalem Post, and the Chicago Sun-Times.
GroupHe obtained an initial equity position in the Telegraph Group in 1985, subsequently achieving complete ownership later that same year.
Following a conviction in 2007 for fraud and obstruction of justice, Lord Black served a sentence of three-and-a-half years in prison, subsequently receiving a pardon from President Trump in 2019.
Sir Paul Marshall paid £100 million earlier this week to acquire The Spectator magazine, which had previously belonged to the Barclay family before the parent companies’ insolvency as a result of Lloyds Banking Group over a year ago.
Sir Paul’s Old Queen Street Ventures remains associated with a potential acquisition of the Telegraph titles, anticipated to fetch a price range of £400m to £500m.
In a recent memo addressed to the staff of the Telegraph, Anna Jones, the chief executive of the newspaper, stated: “The process is ongoing, and we acknowledge the presence of additional bidders in the process that have yet to be revealed.”
A deadline for formal bids is established for 27 September, with National World, the London-listed entity led by David Montgomery, anticipated to submit an offer.
Should the Telegraph achieve a sale price of no less than £500m, it would allow RedBird IMI to recover the £600m investment made the previous year for the option to convert debt linked to the assets into full ownership.
The consultants for the Abu Dhabi-backed entity that encountered difficulties acquiring the media titles due to a change in ownership legislation are Raine Group and Robey Warshaw, who are in charge of managing the Telegraph auction.
Several unsuccessful bidders for the Telegraph have encompassed Lord Saatchi, the former advertising mogul, who proposed a bid of £350 million.
Mediahuis, the Belgian publishing entity, did not advance to the subsequent phase of the auction process.
Lord Rothermere, the owner of the Daily Mail, withdrew from the bidding process earlier this summer due to apprehensions regarding potential competition-related obstacles.
Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the principal owner of Manchester City Football Club and the deputy prime minister of the UAE, is in charge of IMI.