Alexander Lebedev, the Russian oligarch who owns the Evening Standard, is edging closer to a deal to buy The Independent and The Independent on Sunday from Sir Anthony O’Reilly’s Independent News & Media.
The Russian has been in on-off discussions with Simon Kelner, the managing director of the Independent titles, for about a year – but talks are thought to have made significant progress recently as Mr Lebedev has become more enthusiastic about a purchase.
Those close to the discussions said that a transaction had not yet been agreed, but a sale was now a realistic possibility, as Independent News & Media grapples with a €200 million (£170 million) bond that it does not have the cash to repay.
When contacted, Mr Lebedev did not deny the reports and said he was busy with a social engagement. “I cannot comment right now,” Lebedev said. “I am having a drink of whisky with an old friend so I am not able to comment.”
Nevertheless, there remains some distance between the parties and Mr Lebedev is reluctant to take on “all the liabilities”, according to one source familiar with the discussions.
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Independent News & Media wants a new owner to take on The Independent’s losses and does not want a large severance bill as it tries to cut costs.
Besides the issue of paying for any redundancies, complicating factors include the cost of breaking The Independent’s long-running print contract with Trinity Mirror.
That would open up the possibility of running The Independent as a day-night operation in tandem with the Evening Standard, which is printed by its former owner, the Daily Mail and General Trust.
A tie-up between the fourth-ranked quality daily and the London evening title would allow the two to make significant savings in terms of advertising staff and, potentially, journalists who could be shared across the titles.
Any rationalisation would help reduce both papers’ losses, which are estimated to be running at a little over £10 million a year each.
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News of the renewed interest also comes as Sir Anthony prepares to bow out as chief executive of Independent News & Media, which he has run since he became its dominant shareholder in 1973. He will attend today’s annual meeting in Dublin, marking his last public appearance at the helm. His son, Gavin O’Reilly, the company’s chief operating officer, will take over as chief executive.
Sir Anthony, who built a chain of Irish newspapers into a print multinational, first bought into The Independent in 1994 after a battle with David Montgomery’s Mirror Group. He took full control four years later.
Routinely described as the “flagship” of Independent News & Media, The Independent has, however, always been loss-making with a relatively modest readership.
The sale of the London-based newspaper would mark a retreat for the O’Reillys and the indebted company, which has been under siege from Denis O’Brien, its second-largest shareholder.
Once derided by the O’Reillys as a “rogue shareholder”, Mr O’Brien has had to be accommodated to allow him three appointments to Independent News & Media’s board.
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Mr O’Brien has called for a sale of The Independent in the past. Although he has been more diplomatic since his nominees joined the board last month, insiders say that they are now exerting considerable influence.
Meanwhile, questions surrounding Mr Lebedev’s liquidity have arisen after it emerged last month that he was not able to pay the journalists on his Russian newspaper, Novaya Gazeta, amid a shortage of cash. Planes at his budget German airline, Blue Wings, were grounded by aviation officials in the country.
He is also suing Forbes magazine after it claimed he lost $2.5 billion in the financial crisis, cutting his worth to $400 million. He says he is worth over $2 billion.