Ex KGB spy set to buy London Evening Standard
Thursday, 15 January 2009 12:00 AM
By Laura Miller and Richard James
Billionaire and former KGB agent Alexander Lebedev is poised to buy a majority stake in the London Evening Standard, in the first deal to give control of a British newspaper to a former foreign spy.
According to reports, the paper's current owners Daily Mail & General Trust will sign the deal with Mr Lebedev today following a year of secret negotiations. Associated Newspapers will retain a 24 per cent share of the tabloid title.
Mr Lebedev, 49, is thought to have had a bid for the London paper rejected at the end of last year.
The Russian told the Bloomberg news agency on Wednesday his decision to buy the paper wasn't motivated by money.
"This is not my way to make money but I'd like to explain to the public that newspapers are something they should love and cherish," he said, although added: "Obviously I would be in charge of the financial side."
The Evening Standard has a circulation of around 263,000 and its primary base is London and the South East, with a strong focus on financial news from the City.
But Mr Lebedev, who reportedly read the paper while a spy at the Soviet embassy in London in the 1980's, has denied wanting to interfere in British politics and promised a hands-off approach.
Last May Forbes ranked Mr Lebedev 358th in a list of the world's billionaires. The Russian oligarch has amassed a $3.1 billion fortune through stakes in banking and insurance companies, and in the Russian airline Aeroflot.
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