There seems scarcely to be a person alive who does not hope to acquire ‘ or know someone who hopes to acquire ‘ the Telegraph group in the coming year. The names of former Daily Telegraph editors and managing directors, and even one or two still on the payroll, are associated with this or that possible bid. The Barclay brothers, who own the Scotsman, are said to be making inquiries. The interest of the Daily Mail and General Trust and of Richard Desmond, owner of the Express group, is, of course, already well known. American publishers are being cited, though none has so far said that it will make a bid.
What this tells us is that the Telegraph group is a highly desirable property. It was not always so. When Michael Hartwell ran out of money in 1985, there was no such list of wealthy suitors. Conrad Black, a Canadian businessman at that time unknown in this country, was able to acquire a majority shareholding at what seemed a knock-down price. Many critical things have been written about Lord Black over recent weeks, and will doubtless continue to be, but he can comfort himself with the thought that under his proprietorship the Telegraph group has prospered to the point where half the world wants to buy it.
It is also true that whoever acquires the Daily and Sunday Telegraph and The Spectator (I write on the common assumption that these titles will be sold, though not necessarily en bloc) will almost certainly see them becoming more profitable over the coming years. The price war initiated by Rupert Murdoch and the Times has ended, and there is likely to be more scope for the Daily Telegraph to raise its cover price than there has been over recent years.
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