BIDDERS for The Daily Telegraph have been told by the bank conducting the auction of the newspaper that they will learn their fate tomorrow, The Times has learnt.
Lazard Brothers, the investment bank that has presided over the protracted auction, is understood to have told the billionaire Barclay brothers and their bidding rival, 3i, the quoted venture capital group, that the winning bid will be publicly identified tomorrow.
The winner will be selected as early as this evening after a board meeting in New York of Hollinger International, publisher of The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph and The Spectator.
It is understood that both bidders have prepared for the prospect that Lord Black of Crossharbour, founder of Hollinger, will seek to block any recommended takeover, further delaying an acquisition.
The board, led by Gordon Paris, the interim chief executive of Hollinger International, is also understood to have met over the weekend.
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The Barclays, publishers of The Scotsman, remain favourites in the race. The reclusive twins, Sir David and Sir Frederick, have fewer financial restrictions than 3i, which is answerable to shareholders and is tethered to Veronis Suhler Stevenson, a US investment bank with which it formed a bid consortium.
It is understood that David Montgomery, 3i media adviser and former Mirror Group chief executive, has drawn up a cost-cutting plan that he hopes will give the syndicate an advantage in the auction.
Bids are thought to have settled at just above £650 million, but the headline price will be inflated by as much as £70 million of working capital that is contained within the Telegraph Group. A decision would end a process that began in November with the sacking of Lord Black, Hollinger International chief executive, and the subsequent appointment of Lazard to conduct a strategic review of the company.
However, Lord Black, who controls 72 per cent of the votes and holds a 30 per cent equity stake in Hollinger International, is likely to try to block the sale even if the titles fall to the Barclays, his original choice. The Tory peer is expected to argue that the deal would not be in the best interests of shareholders, of which he is one, and that no sale can proceed without his approval because of his large stake in the company.
Lord Black is the subject of a $1.2 billion (£660 million) lawsuit by Hollinger International over allegations that he fraudulently diverted company funds. However, under the terms of the secret takeover offer constructed with Sir David and Sir Frederick late last year, Lord Black’s legal liabilities were to have been limited to $60 million.