Proactive Investors - A deal for the Barclay family to regain control of the Telegraph is nearing completion thanks to financing from Abu Dhabi, reports revealed on Monday.
After months of deadlock between the Barclay brothers’ family and Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LON:LLOY), progress is being made, with financial support from the Middle East allowing for the former owners to pay back all they owe.
Lloyds Bank initiated a sale process after it placed the newspaper and the Spectator magazine into receivership in June, having grown tired of the owner's long-term outstanding debts.
Over £1.1 billion is owed to the bank and Lloyds is adamant about receiving the full repayment if the Barclays (LON:BARC) want to become proprietors of the newspaper once again.
Offers made by the family which failed to promise to pay all the debt off immediately have been rejected by the UK lender, leading to interest from a consortium led by hedge fund royalty Paul Marshall and a separate bid from Lord Rothermere’s Daily Mail and General Trust.
Abu Dhabi royalty and RedBird IMI (LON:IMI), the Middle Eastern-backed venture led by former CNN president Jeff Zucker, are reported to be providing the financing for the deal.
A group of Tory ministers have urged cabinet ministers to scrutinise and consider intervening in the deal, due to fears surrounding the involvement of the Abu Dhabi backers.
Press in the Middle Eastern country is restricted by the government and British politicians are concerned that the Barclay family’s backers could exert similar restrictions on the UK newspaper.