Telegraph bidders get more time

THE bidding deadline for The Daily Telegraph and its parent company Hollinger International looks set to be extended beyond next week, according to sources close to the auction.

Bidders have requested more information about the publishing group and its assets from Lazard, the investment bank handling the sale. Lazard is understood to be prepared to relax the deadline until the end of the month.

Bidders are interested in recent trading figures from the Telegraph, which are likely to show the group had a difficult January and February, but saw revenue up year-on-year in March and April.

The bank is understood to be unwilling to grant any single bidder exclusivity in the negotiations. It is also likely that more than two of the bidders would be involved in the final stage of the auction.

Bids for the Telegraph group are thought to range between £600m and £700m. Interested parties include venture capital groups Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, 3i and Apax and Candover, German publisher Axel Springer, Daily Mail & General Trust (owner of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday, the Evening Standard and This Is Money), and the Barclay brothers, publishers of The Scotsman.

The Hollinger group was put up for sale after the discovery of allegedly unauthorised payments last year to members of the Hollinger board, including Lord Black, its then chairman.