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New York Sun owner Dovid Efune is in advanced talks with several large equity investors, including Ashcroft Partners, to finance a $550mn acquisition of the UK’s Telegraph newspaper, ahead of an exclusivity period likely to start this week.
Efune is expected to sign an exclusivity agreement that will allow the British-born media executive six weeks to reach a deal for buying the Telegraph, according to several people close to the talks.
The deal has been slightly delayed while Efune has lined up financing and by holiday periods over the past two weeks, they added.
Efune is in talks with a number of US funds to support his deal. These include Ashcroft, launched by Jarett Banks, who worked for several years with US billionaire David Tepper, and the Koch family, which owns one of the largest privately held companies in the US.
The Kochs’ involvement was first reported by US news site Semafor last week.
Oaktree, the US fund founded by Howard Marks, is also likely to be involved in providing debt for the deal.
The people close to the deal said the funding needed to be clear given the regulatory hurdles faced by previous would-be acquirers.
The seller of the Telegraph, RedBird IMI, which is partly owned by a state-backed Abu Dhabi investor, was prevented from taking full control earlier this year after the UK government baulked at allowing Abu Dhabi funding to be used in the ownership structure.
Efune, who has been supported by LionTree, the boutique investment bank run by Aryeh Bourkoff, is in advanced talks with about five large equity investors to finance the latest deal, the people said.
However, others that have been approached — including Elliott co-chief executive Paul Singer and Bill Ackman — have decided not to back the deal at present, they added. However, one person said they might decide to come back to the table once the exclusivity agreement was signed.
The emergence of Efune as frontrunner has surprised media executives in Fleet Street given his low profile in the UK.
The newspaper has attracted interest from rival investors, including hedge fund boss and GB News co-owner Paul Marshall, as well as media groups including David Montgomery’s National World.
While Efune is yet to enter formal exclusivity talks, other bidders such as National World have been informed that they are not progressing as it stands.
One person close to the talks described the past week as “exclusivity to go into exclusivity”. RedBird IMI declined to comment. Efune was not available for comment. Ashcroft has been approached for comment.
