Bidders for The Daily Telegraph and its Sunday sister title are this week holding their first direct talks with the newspaper group’s bosses ahead of a deadline for formal bids later this month.
Sky News has learnt that the remaining bidders for the right-leaning newspapers are participating in management presentations as they seek to finalise second-round offers.
Sources close to the process said on Tuesday that several parties were scheduled to meet Telegraph executives including CEO Anna Jones and the Daily Telegraph editor, Chris Evans.
They are understood to include Sir Paul Marshall and National World, the London-listed media group run by newspaper veteran David Montgomery.
At least one other party whose identity has yet to be disclosed publicly is also thought to remain in contention to buy the newspapers.
A separate bid orchestrated by Nadhim Zahawi, the former chancellor, is the subject of bilateral discussions with IMI, the Abu Dhabi-based venture which wanted to take a controlling stake in the British media assets before being blocked by the government.
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Sky News revealed exclusively last month that Sir Paul was the frontrunner to buy The Spectator, which along with the Telegraph titles was owned by the Barclay family until their respective holding companies were forced into liquidation last year.
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March: Press faces foreign govt ban
A deal for The Spectator is expected to be signed later this week or early next, with one source saying that Sir Paul’s Old Queen Street Ventures vehicle would pay just under £100m to acquire the current affairs magazine.
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RedBird IMI, a joint venture between IMI and the American investor RedBird, paid £600m last year to acquire a call option that was intended to convert into equity ownership.
A sale of The Spectator for just under £100m would leave it needing to sell the Telegraph titles for £500m to recoup that outlay in full – or more than that once RedBird IMI’s fees and costs associated with the process are taken into account.
Of the unsuccessful bidders for the Telegraph, Lord Saatchi, the former advertising mogul, offered £350m, while Mediahuis, the Belgian publisher, also failed to make it through to the next round of the auction.
Lord Rothermere, the Daily Mail proprietor, pulled out of the bidding earlier in the summer amid concerns that he would be blocked on competition grounds.
Last month, Sky News revealed that Mr Zahawi had sounded out Boris Johnson, the former prime minister, about an executive role with The Daily Telegraph if he succeeded in buying the newspapers.
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Ex-chancellor plots Telegraph bid
Mr Johnson, who now writes a column for The Daily Mail, previously worked for the Telegraph, both as a correspondent in Brussels and more recently as a highly paid columnist.
The fate of the Telegraph, historically a staunch Conservative Party backer, has now been up in the air for more than a year.
Lloyds Banking Group, the UK’s biggest high street lender, seized control of its parent companies after the Barclay family fell behind on debt repayments.
The Barclays continue to control Very Group, the online retailer, with IMI also having extended financing to that business.
Mr Zahawi was recently appointed as chair of Very Group.
IMI is controlled by the UAE’s deputy prime minister and ultimate owner of Manchester City Football Club, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
The Lloyds debt, which totalled more than £1.15bn, was repaid by RedBird IMI on behalf of the family.
RedBird IMI’s attempt to take ownership of the Telegraph titles and The Spectator was thwarted by the last Conservative government’s decision to change media law to prevent foreign states exerting influence over national newspapers.
Following his remarks, the value of the pound dropped and government borrowing costs rose, via the interest rate on both 10 and 30-year bonds.
Although market fluctuations are common, there was a reaction following Sir Keir’s comments in the Commons – signalling concern among investors of potential changes within the Treasury.
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PM refuses to rule out tax rises
Sterling dropped to a week-long low, hitting $1.35 for the first time since 24 June. The level, however, is still significantly higher than the vast majority of the past year, having come off the near four-year peak reached yesterday.
While a drop against the euro, took the pound to €1.15, a rate not seen since mid-April in the aftermath of President Donald Trump’s tariff announcements.
Meanwhile, the interest rate investors charge to lend money to the government, called the gilt yield, rose on both long-term (30-year) and ten-year bonds.
The UK’s benchmark 10-year gilt yield – so-called for the gilt edges that historically lined the paper they were printed on – rose to 4.67%, a high last recorded on 9 June.
And 30-year gilt yields hit 5.45%, a level not seen since 29 May.
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Ms Reeves has committed to self-imposed rules to reduce debt and balance the budget. Speculation around her future led investors to question the government’s commitment to balancing the books – and how they would do that.
The questions over her future came after the government scrapped the core money-saving component of its welfare bill, which had been intended to reduce spending in order to meet fiscal rules.
Tesla’s woes have deepened as latest production and deliveries figures showed a greater fall than expected.
A total of 384,122 Teslas were delivered from April to June this year, a 13.5% drop on the same period last year and the second quarter of slumping output.
Wall Street analysts had expected Tesla to report about 1,000 more deliveries.
It’s bad news for Tesla chief executive Elon Musk in a week of attacks from President Donald Trump on him personally, as well as his companies.
Mr Musk found himself on the wrong side of Mr Trump and the majority of US congresspeople in his opposition to the so-called big beautiful bill approved by the US Senate.
His criticism of the inevitable debt rises the bill will result in led Mr Trump threatening to end subsidies for Mr Musk’s numerous businesses and to deport him.
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Trump threatens to ‘put DOGE’ on Musk
His role as founder and chief executive of numerous businesses has made him the world’s richest man, according to Forbes.
As well as Tesla, Mr Musk founded space technology company SpaceX and Starlink. He also acquired the social media company Twitter, which he rebranded X.
It was the poor performance of Tesla that pushed him out of full-time politics and back to the Tesla offices.
After months of share price tumbles and protests at Tesla showrooms, sales drops and car defacings, Musk left his work with the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Not everyone viewed the figures as negative.
Analysts at financial services firm Wedbush said: “Tesla’s future is in many ways the brightest it’s ever been in our view given autonomous, FSD [full self-driving], robotics, and many other technology innovations now on the horizon with 90% of the valuation being driven by autonomous and robotics over the coming years but Musk needs to focus on driving Tesla and not putting his political views first.”
After a 5% share price fall earlier this week when Mr Musk strayed back into political matters, Tesla stock rose 4.5% on Wednesday.
The latest financial details for Tesla will be published later this month.
In the first three months of the year, Tesla’s profits fell by 71% to $409m (£306.77m) from $1.39bn (£1.04bn). Revenues were also well below forecasts, dropping 9% to $19.3bn (£14.5bn).
It’s a threat that will send a shiver down the spine of Downing Street and shake the City of London to its core.
Even the notion that AstraZeneca (AZ) – the UK’s most valuable listed company – is thinking of upping sticks and switching its stock market listing to America is a frightening prospect on many levels.
After all, if your biggest firm departs for Wall Street, what message does it send to an already bruised London stock market that has struggled to find its way since the UK’s vote to leave the European Union?
The timing of the report in The Times that Pascal Soriot, the pharmaceutical company’s long-standing chief executive, is considering his own Brexit for the company, will not be lost on anyone.
The Treasury is under severe strain and the Starmer government, apparently focused on compromise given its welfare reform U-turns, bruised.
Ministers have been scrambling to get the support of business back, after a budget tax raid that has added to the cost of employing people in the UK, by launching a series of strategies to demonstrate a growth-led focus.
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Mr Soriot’s reported shift is the culmination of years of frustration over UK tax rates and support for business – though it could also remove a focus on his own remuneration as the highest-paid director of a UK-listed firm.
Image: Pascal Soriot has run AZ since 2012
AZ has its own gripes with Labour.
In January, the company cancelled a planned £450m investment in a vaccine factory on Merseyside, accusing the government of reneging on the previous Conservative administration’s offer of financial aid.
At the same time, it has been rebuilding its presence in the United States.
That speaks to not only a home market snub but also the election of a US president intent on protecting, as he sees it, America-based companies and jobs.
Donald Trump is threatening 25% tariffs on all pharma imports.
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How Trump’s tariffs are biting
AZ has already promised a $3.5bn (£2.6bn) investment in US manufacturing by the end of 2026.
It has also rejoined the leading US drug lobby group, bolstering its voice in Washington DC.
There are sound reasons for bolstering its US footprint; more than 40% of AZ’s revenues are made in the world’s largest economy. Greater US production would also shield it from any duties imposed by Mr Trump and any MAGA successor.
Since Brexit, complaints among UK stock market constituents have been of low valuations compared to peers (with a weak pound also leaving them vulnerable to takeovers), weaker access to capital and poor appetite for new listings.
Wise, the money transfer firm, became the latest UK name to say that it intends to move its primary listing to the US just last month.
Image: Shein had been exploring a London flotation until it was blocked. Pic: Europa Press via AP
If followed through, it would tread in the footsteps of Flutter Entertainment and the building equipment suppler CRH – just two big names to have already left.
London was snubbed for a listing by its former chip-designing resident ARM back in 2023.
An initial public offering by Shein, the controversial fast fashion firm, had offered the prospect of the biggest flotation for the UK in many years but that was blocked by the Chinese authorities.
Efforts to bolster the City’s appeal, such as through the Financial Conduct Authority’s overhaul of listing rules and the creation of pension megafunds to aid access to capital, have also been boosted in recent months by investors in US companies taking a second look at comparatively low valuations in Europe.
Market analysts have charted a cash spread away from the US as a hedge against an erratic White House.
The Times report suggested that Mr Soriot’s plans were likely to face some opposition from members of the board, in addition to the UK government.
Image: The City of London has faced a series of challenges since Brexit Pic: iStock
AstraZeneca has not commented on the story. Crucially, it did not deny it.
But a government spokesperson said: “Through our forthcoming Life Sciences Sector Plan, we are launching a 10-year mission to harness the life sciences sector to drive long-term economic growth and build a stronger, prevention-focused NHS.
“We have already started delivering on key actions, from investing up to £600m in the Health Data Research Service alongside Wellcome, through to committing over £650m in Genomics England and up to £354m in Our Future Health.
“This is clear evidence of our commitment and confidence in life sciences as a driver of both economic growth and better health outcomes.”
Governments don’t comment on stories such as these, but you can bet your bottom dollar that the departure of your biggest firm by market value is not the message a government laser-focused on growth can afford to allow.