Evgeny Lebedev, the Russian oligarch’s son who owns the Evening Standard and the Independent website, made an offer to buy the Daily Telegraph from the Barclay brothers earlier this year. During the following year they paid £1 to buy the Independent and Independent on Sunday. Earlier this year, a letter to all staff by Telegraph Media Group chief executive Murdoch MacLennan referred to an “extensive strategic review of the business”. TMG was bought by the Barclay brothers in July 2004 for a reputed £665m from Hollinger, the company previously controlled by Conrad Black. A high point came in 2009 when the Telegraph won praise for its agenda-setting revelations about MPs’ expenses.

Source: The Guardian August 17, 2016 20:25 UTC