Observer gets its first offer
INVESTMENT boutique Capital Ideas has launched an audacious bid to buy the embattled Observer newspaper from Guardian Media Group (GMG) for a nominal sum, with a view to turning the brand into a weekly news magazine and website.
In the first of what is sure to be a number of bids to emerge for the newspaper, Capital Ideas’ publishing division said it had sent a preliminary letter containing details of the proposal.
“We are making the first overtures at the moment but we are quite serious about it,” said consultant Renwick Haddow. “We will be talking to them.”
The group, which owns the Compliance Monthly and Investing for Growth trade titles, said it would publish a weekend news magazine under the Observer brand, in the style of The Week.
However, it plans to slim down the paper’s current staff considerably if any deal goes ahead.
GMG said it had not yet received the letter, but hinted that any forthcoming offer would be unwelcome, saying: “It is not surprising, in the light of recent media coverage, that opportunistic and unsolicited approaches of this nature might be made.”
Guardian Media Group will next month publish the results of a strategic company review, which may include closing The Observer or turning it into a weekly news publication.