Major newspaper groups, including Independent News & Media (IN&M), may be among those considering a bid for assets likely to be sold by press baron Lord Black, among them the Daily Telegraph. Emmet Oliver reports.
Lord Black of Crossharbour yesterday said he would retire as chief executive of Hollinger International, a global media empire which ultimately owns the Daily Telegraph, the Sunday Telegraph, Spectator magazine, the Chicago Sun-Times and the Jerusalem Post.
The move follows an internal inquiry which discovered that Lord Black and other executives had received more than $32 million (€27.25 million) in "unauthorised" payments.
Hollinger said Lord Black would leave his post on Friday, but would remain non-executive chairman at Hollinger. A statement from Hollinger said the payments had not been authorised by its audit committee or its board of directors.
The sale of the Daily Telegraph and the Sunday Telegraph, which are both owned by Telegraph Group Limited, would attract considerable interest from other newspaper groups. But a purchase price for the whole Hollinger group of €600-€860 million could prove prohibitive for many.
However, the Telegraph titles themselves would come cheaper, possibly for about €450 million.
The following companies have already been mentioned in Britain as possible buyers of some of the titles: Daily Mail & General Trust; Express Newspapers; the Barclay Brothers; the Washington Post Company and the New York Times. Some have even suggested that if Mr Rupert Murdoch's News International could find some way around competition rules, it might be interested in acquiring the titles. However, this would probably, at a minimum, force Mr Murdoch to sell the Times newspaper.
IN&M refused to comment on the potential sale of the titles yesterday. Nonetheless, the British media suggested Sir Anthony O'Reilly might be interested in a bid, possibly with a partner. The British media suggested acquiring the Daily and Sunday Telegraph newspapers would give Sir Anthony far more commercial and political clout in Britain than he currently has via ownership of the Independent and London Independent.
The Guardian commented yesterday: "Sir Tony O'Reilly has also been touted as another possible bidder. His newspaper, the Independent, has been a long and costly haul for the Irish entrepreneur and although it is currently flush from the success of the tabloid version, ownership of the Telegraph could satisfy his desire to wield power and influence in the UK."
Ms Niamh Brodie, analyst with Merrion Stockbrokers, said if IN&M bought the titles it would have to fundamentally restructure its balance sheet. "As everyone knows, the group is currently engaged in product disposals and debt reduction, not acquisitions."
She said competition issues might also arise because of the Independent. However, she said the sale of national newspaper titles like the Daily Telegraph only happened occasionally and for that reason major newspaper groups would be keenly interested in such assets.
Lord Black has no interests in Ireland, although during the final days of the Irish Press Group his Telegraph group was reported to be interested in buying the Press titles, along with the Sunday Business Post. - (Additional reporting: Guardian Service)
