One of the world’s biggest investment groups is in talks to help fund the owner of the New York Sun’s £550 million takeover of the Daily Telegraph.
Sky News has learned that Apollo Global Management, which oversees assets worth $733 billion, has in recent days held initial discussions with Dovid Efune and his advisers about lending some of the money necessary for the transaction.
Banking sources said Tuesday that the discussions were preliminary in nature and may not result in an agreement.
Other donors are also in talks with Mr. Efune, the sources added.
The development was announced just three days before the exclusivity period granted to the US-based businessman expired, although according to insiders it is almost certain to be extended.
Apollo ranks among the world’s largest financial institutions and is a major player in private equity and private credit worldwide.
Over the past fortnight, a series of media reports have cast doubt on Mr Efune’s ability to complete the deal, with potential lenders including Oaktree Capital Management and Hudson Bay Capital reportedly withdrawing from the process .
Sky News revealed In early November, former Conservative chancellor Nadhim Zahawi and the party’s former treasurer, Sir Mohamed Mansour, were enlisted by Mr. Efune to help him in his bid for right-wing newspapers.
Mr Zahawi, who is expected to be among peers on Rishi Sunak’s resignation honors list, and Sir Mohamed are expected to invest tens of millions of pounds in the deal if it goes through.
In September, Sky News revealed that Sir Mohamed had been approached to provide up to £150 million for a standalone bid for Telegraph securities which were run at the time by Mr Zahawi.
If completed, the transaction will crystallize an unlikely profit for RedBird IMI, the Abu Dhabi-backed vehicle which paid £600m to acquire a call option to become the property of the Telegraph newspapers and The Spectator magazine.
Depending on how the deal is ultimately structured, it could be worth up to £575m, with less than a third expected to be in debt.
The Spectator was recently sold for £100 million to Sir Paul Marshallthe hedge fund billionaire, who appointed Michael Gove, the former minister, as editor-in-chief.
Insiders said Mr Zahawi would likely be given a permanent role at the Telegraph if Mr Efune’s offer was successful.
The former Chancellor, Education Secretary and Vaccines Minister has been involved in the Telegraph process in various forms, initially helping to negotiate a deal with RedBird IMI before assembling his own bid.
He has close ties to many Gulf figures involved in the process, including Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber, president of the bid body.
Mr Zahawi was also named chairman of Very Group, the online retailer owned by the Barclay family which controlled the Telegraph for two decades and is now part-funded by IMI.
UAE-based IMI, which is controlled by UAE Deputy Prime Minister and ultimate owner of Manchester City Football Club Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has awarded a further £600m to Barclays to repay a loan owed to Lloyds Banking Group. the balance being guaranteed by other family assets.
Mr Efune’s candidacy raises the extraordinary possibility of a return to the British media group for Conrad Black, its former owner, Sky News reported earlier in the fall.
Other bidders for the Telegraph included National World, the London-listed vehicle run by former Mirror newspaper chief David Montgomery, and Lord Saatchi, the former advertising magnate, who bid £350m.
Lord Rothermere, owner of the Daily Mail, withdrew from the tender earlier this summer, fearing he would be blocked on competition grounds.
The Telegraph’s auction is being run by Raine Group and Robey Warshaw, advisers to the Abu Dhabi-backed entity, whose efforts to buy the media titles were thwarted by a change in ownership law.
Apollo declined to comment.