Lord Saatchi hires Lazard to advise on Telegraph takeover bid

Lord Saatchi, the former advertising guru, has hired the investment bank which helped Lloyds Banking Group recover a £1bn-plus loan to the Barclay family to advise him on a takeover of The Daily Telegraph.

Sky News has learnt that Lazard is working with the Conservative peer and Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild, a former director of The Economist Group.

The recruitment of the Mayfair-based firm is likely to strengthen Lord Saatchi’s hand in the auction of the Telegraph titles, with a deadline set for indicative offers later on Friday.

Lazard worked with Lloyds for months on recovering its outstanding loans from the Barclays, eventually helping the high street lender to secure full repayment following a string of discounted offers.

The investment bank has in the past also had close to ties to Daily Mail & General Trust, the Daily Mail publisher, which said last week it would not bid for the Telegraph.

Lord Saatchi is understood to have been in talks with prospective financial backers for several weeks, although further details of his proposed offer were unclear on Friday.

One half of the advertising duo who created Saatchi & Saatchi and, later, M&C Saatchi, he declined to comment when contacted by Sky News.

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The auction of the Telegraph titles and The Spectator magazine has been launched by RedBird IMI, the Abu Dhabi state-backed vehicle which struck a deal earlier this year to take control of the assets.

Its ambitions were thwarted, however, by government intervention amid a backlash over the prospect of a foreign state effectively owning prominent national newspapers.

Earlier this week, Sky News revealed that Sir Paul Marshall, the hedge fund tycoon regarded as a leading contender to buy the Telegraph, could decide against lodging an offer.

David Montgomery’s National World is likely to be among the suitors, while US-based RedBird may itself also bid alongside other investors.

The fate of the Telegraph, historically a staunch Conservative Party backer, has been up in the air for more than a year after Lloyds Banking Group seized control of its parent companies after the Barclays fell behind on debt repayments.

The family had owned the Telegraph for nearly 20 years, but has seen a number of its assets fall into financial trouble.

The Barclays continue to control Very Group, the online retailer.

Raine Group, best-known in Britain for its roles in recent deals involving Manchester United and Chelsea football clubs, and Robey Warshaw are advising on the auction of the media assets.

Doubts persist about whether RedBird IMI can expect to recoup the £600m it paid to acquire the call option that would have converted into ownership of the Telegraph.

The newspapers and The Spectator could yet be sold separately, with Rupert Murdoch said to remain among those interested in buying the political magazine.

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Lazard has been contacted for comment.

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