New alliance join battle for Telegraph

VENTURE capital groups Candover and Apax have joined forces in the battle for the Telegraph newspapers. They will table a joint bid for the daily and Sunday titles.

Candover was previously thought to have dropped out of the auction after balking at the estimated £600 million to £700 million price for the papers.

Nor was it interested in bidding for the whole group, which includes the Chicago Sun-Times and the Jerusalem Post. Joining forces with Apax gives Candover greater flexibility, though sources say the board of Hollinger International, the Telegraph's publisher, has not decided whether to sell the entire company or the newspaper assets individually.

Other bidders for Hollinger include the Daily Mail & General Trust, owner of The Mail on Sunday; German media group Axel Springer; venture capital firm 3i; the Barclay brothers, publishers of The Scotsman; and American venture capital group Kohlberg Kravis Roberts.