Sir Paul Marshall, the hedge fund tycoon and GB News shareholder, is closing in on a deal to buy The Spectator, one of Britain’s most influential political media titles.
Sky News has learnt that Sir Paul, the co-founder of Marshall Wace, has emerged as the leading contender to buy The Spectator, which is part of an auction process which also involves the Daily and Sunday Telegraph newspapers.
Sources close to the process said the City financier’s Old Queen Street Ventures vehicle could strike a deal to buy the magazine as soon as this month.
A transaction for The Spectator, which was first published in 1828, would decouple it from a simultaneous process which is taking place to find new owners for the right-leaning Telegraph newspapers.
Insiders said a purchase by Sir Paul of The Spectator would not necessarily rule him out of the Telegraph sale, although there has been growing doubt in recent weeks about whether he would participate in the newspaper auction.
The fate of the media assets has been thrown into question by the unravelling of a deal that would have seen RedBird IMI, a vehicle backed by Abu Dhabi state funding, take control of them.
The takeover collapsed after the government intervened to block ownership of national newspapers by funds emanating from overseas governments.
A number of other bidders, including Rupert Murdoch, the owner of The Times and The Sun, had also expressed interest in buying The Spectator ahead of a deadline set by RedBird IMI’s advisers last month.
One person close to the process cautioned that a deal between Sir Paul and RedBird IMI for The Spectator had yet to be signed and could yet fall apart.
He is not thought to be in formal exclusivity to buy the title.
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A deal would be likely to value the magazine, which makes a seven-figure annual profit, at somewhere between £50m and £100m.
Edited by Fraser Nelson, the magazine is closely followed by Westminster politicians, while its annual summer party is usually populated by Britain’s most senior government and opposition figures.
It is chaired by the veteran broadcaster and journalist Andrew Neil, who reportedly said earlier this year: “The matter of a foreign government owning media assets is a matter of public policy.
“With Marshall it’s just a matter of we don’t like him and we don’t want him. That’s a personal preference.”
Sir Paul has been linked with the Telegraph and Spectator titles ever since their respective parent companies were placed into insolvency proceedings by Lloyds Banking Group over a year ago.
A major shareholder in GB News’ parent company, Sir Paul stepped down from its board earlier this year.
He recently changed the name of UnHerd Ventures to Old Queen Street Ventures to “to allow the vehicle to bid for multiple media titles without creating the impression that they will be published by UnHerd”, a source close to him said last month.
RedBird IMI paid £600m to acquire a call option that was intended to convert into ownership of the Telegraph and Spectator.
Participants in the process have questioned whether the Abu Dhabi-backed vehicle will recoup that sum from the onward sale of the assets.
A number of parties are also said to remain in contention to buy the newspapers.
They include Lord Saatchi, the former advertising tycoon; National World, the London-listed regional newspaper group; Mediahuis, the Belgian media company.
Last month, Sky News revealed that Nadhim Zahawi, the former chancellor, was approaching billionaire backers for a bid for the Telegraph.
Mr Zahawi played a pivotal role last year as an intermediary between the Barclay family and RedBird IMI, and his proximity to the former Telegraph proprietors was underlined in May when Sky News revealed that he was joining Very Group, the family’s online retailer and financial services provider, as its chairman.
He had been tipped to chair the newspaper group if RedBird IMI had been allowed to convert its call option into ownership of the titles.
That announcement came three months after IMI participated – alongside the private equity firm Carlyle – in a £125m package of financial support for Very Group.
The Barclay family is not thought to be playing a direct role in Mr Zahawi’s talks with IMI about the Telegraph.
The Times recently revealed that the publisher of the Daily Mail had withdrawn from the auction because of the risk of a detailed competition inquiry.
Sir Paul had reportedly secured financing from Ken Griffin, the American founder of hedge fund Citadel, for a Telegraph bid, although it was unclear whether Mr Griffin would be involved in financing a purchase of The Spectator.
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Earlier this year, Sky News revealed that Raine Group, best-known in Britain for its roles in recent deals involving Manchester United and Chelsea football clubs, and Robey Warshaw had been hired to advise on the next phase of the Telegraph’s ownership.
One person close to the Telegraph said its commercial prospects were robust, as had been made evident by its recently published accounts.
RedBird IMI and a spokesman for Sir Paul both declined to comment.
