Despite one of his key backers withdrawing financial support, the leading contender in the race to purchase The Telegraph insists that his bid for the paper remains on track.
Dovid Efune, the British owner of the New York Sun, entered exclusive talks to acquire The Telegraph Media Group last month after outbidding well-known competitors with a £550m offer for the newspaper group, as reported by .
The Manchester-born, US-based media tycoon has a fortnight to complete the necessary due diligence process and demonstrate he has adequate financial backing to finalise the deal. Efune has been collaborating with boutique New York-based investment bank Liontree to secure the funding.
However, reports suggest that Oaktree Capital, one of the key backers they had relied on until now, will no longer be providing financial backing to the bid, potentially jeopardising Efune's attempt at the paper. If Efune fails to provide evidence of sufficient support by the end of November deadline, the auction for the right-leaning broadsheets will proceed to a third round.
Nevertheless, the publishing executive has refuted claims that Oaktree's withdrawal has left his bid hanging in the balance, with a spokesman for Efune telling City AM that the group had "high confidence in [their] financing path". "We can confirm that Oak Tree submitted a preliminary proposal for debt financing related to the Telegraph acquisition," he added.
"Their proposal was not competitive, so we have decided not to proceed with them and we are progressing on debt financing with a number of reputable institutions."
Initially regarded as an unorthodox contender in the race for The Telegraph Media group, which encompasses The Daily Telegraph, Sunday Telegraph, and the Telegraph website, Efune has stepped back after Sir Paul Marshall singled out The Spectator in a solitary transaction valued at £100m.
A plethora of well-known entities had expressed interest in acquiring the titles including DMGT, guardian of the Daily Mail; advertising magnate Lord Saatchi; and the formidable private equity enterprise CVC Capital Partners but many have retreated. DMGT backed down, wary of stringent antitrust rules that could delay or scupper their plans, while the hefty £550m asking price set by owners Redbird IMI for the publications caused others to hesitate.
Oaktree Capital has opted to withhold any statements on the matter.
