The sale of The Telegraph and The Spectator begins

The British newspaper conglomerate Telegraph Media Group Ltd., owner of The Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph and The Spectator magazine are on sale from this Friday. The boards of directors of both outlets decided to put them up for sale after learning that they were being stripped from their previous owners, the billionaire Barclay family.

The dispute began in June when the holding company Lloyds Banking Group took control of the outlets when it was discovered that the Barclay family, who had acquired both media in the year 2004, accumulated unpaid debts of more than 1 billion pounds (about $1.22 billion).

After this, Lloyds consultants, Alix Partners and Lazard began preparing to sell. Earlier in the week, The Guardian reported, the family itself made a 1-billion-pound bid in an attempt to fend off potential rivals. The holding company did not consider their offer, as the family was bankrupt.

Rupert Murdoch among potential buyers

There is no shortage of potential buyers for both companies. As reported by Bloomberg, the list of people interested in acquiring both The Telegraph and The Spectator includes billionaire and Republican donor Ken Griffin, fund manager Paul Marshall as well as the owner of the Daily Mail, Axel Springer. There are also rumors that Rupert Murdoch, president emeritus of News Corp., could be interested in acquiring both media, as he already made an offer for The Spectator two years ago.

Analysts have estimated the value of both publications, per The Guardian. The Telegraph is valued between 500 million and 700 million pounds ($600-850 million), while The Spectator could fetch 70 million pounds ($85 million).