The owner of the New York Sun is racing to salvage a £550m takeover of The Daily Telegraph after a period of exclusive negotiations to clinch a deal came to an end.
Sky News has learnt that Dovid Efune is in London for talks with Telegraph executives, investors and advisers on the transaction amid growing uncertainty over its completion.
Sources close to the process said an exclusivity period had now technically ended, although Mr Efune and the sellers remained in talks about completing a deal within the coming weeks.
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Mr Efune has approached a large number of parties about financing his bid after those named as his original backers fell away over the last month.
The expiry of the exclusivity period means that RedBird IMI, which is selling an instrument that will convert into ownership of the Telegraph titles, is again free to negotiate with other bidders.
Last week, the Financial Times reported that Todd Boehly, the joint owner of Chelsea Football Club, was interested in a deal, either alone or in partnership with Mr Efune.
Raine Group, one of the advisers handling the Telegraph auction, oversaw the sale of Chelsea to Mr Boehly and his co-owner, Behdad Eghbali.
Others who could re-enter the process include Lord Saatchi and David Montgomery, although his renewed interest would be complicated by the fact that National World, the company he heads, is itself the subject of a takeover bid.
Mr Efune’s exclusivity period was extended once to enable him to line up financing for the deal.
Last month, Sky News revealed that Apollo Global Management was among the parties examining providing debt to his bid.
Nadhim Zahawi, the former chancellor, is also involved in the talks as an adviser to Liontree, which is aiding Mr Efune’s bid.
Mr Zahawi is likely to be handed an ongoing role at the Telegraph if Mr Efune is successful.
The Telegraph auction is being run by Raine and Robey Warshaw, the advisers to the Abu Dhabi-backed entity which was thwarted in its efforts to buy the media titles by a change in ownership law.
RedBird IMI declined to comment.
The latest twist in the Telegraph’s ownership battle comes in the same week that The Observer’s owner signed a deal to sell it to Tortoise Media, a fledgling digital business.
That transaction has proved to be highly contentious, triggering strike action by Guardian and Observer journalists.
The eco-tycoon Dale Vince made a number of approaches to The Guardian’s parent company about a deal, but was denied an opportunity to enter talks.
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