Telegraph not for sale, say owners after rebuffing approaches from two high-profile media figures
The owners of the Daily Telegraph have reiterated that their newspapers are not for sale after it emerged that two high-profile media figures have approached them about the company this year.
Evgeny Lebedev, the owner of the Evening Standard and now online-only Independent newspapers, is understood to have made an informal approach over the availability of Telegraph Media Group earlier this year.
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No formal bid was made and Aidan Barclay, the chairman of TMG, and son of Sir David Barclay – who co-owns the Telegraph with his brother Sir Frederick – is understood to have made clear that the group was not for sale.
And separately Richard Addis, the former editor of the Daily Express and weekend editor of the Financial Times, also approached the owners as part of a consortium.
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Addis told the FT: “I created a small consortium interested in the Telegraph at the start of the year. We were active until April.
“There didn’t appear to be any appetite to sell. If that changes we would regroup.”
A spokesperson for the Barclay family said: "There are no plans to sell TMG or any part of it and there never have been."
Morning Wire has also approached Lebedev and Addis for comment.