Owner of Bild and Politico also bid for the newspaper in 2004
Axel Springer, Germany’s biggest news publisher, has expressed interest in a takeover of The Telegraph almost two decades after it lost out in the previous auction.
The Berlin-headquartered company, which counts the US private equity firm KKR as its dominant shareholder, has notified Goldman Sachs of its desire to participate in the forthcoming sale of the newspapers.
The investment bank has been appointed to find a new owner for The Telegraph by receivers acting for Lloyds Banking Group, which seized control in June following a dispute with its previous owners the Barclay family. They had secured borrowing in excess of £1bn against the company.
Springer, which also owns the leading German newspapers Bild and Die Welt, as well as international titles including Business Insider and Politico, declined to comment. Its expression of interest was first reported by Sky News.