Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson held informal discussions about a possible role at the Telegraph as part of Nadhim Zahawi’s bid to take over the paper.
Zahawi, who served as an adviser under Johnson, is currently assembling a consortium to buy the Telegraph in an ongoing auction.
A source close to Johnson played down the significance of the talks, saying no substantive discussions had taken place, despite speculation that Johnson could be appointed global editor of the paper. Johnson, who has deep ties to the Telegraph from his time as a Brussels correspondent and columnist, currently writes a weekly column for the Daily Mail, and is said to earn a six-figure salary.
Zahawi, who briefly served as an adviser in Johnson’s final days as prime minister, is one of several bidders who have advanced to the second round of the auction. The auction, run by Robbie Warshaw & Ryan, also includes rival bidders such as Sir Paul Marshall, backed by billionaire Republican donor Ken Griffin, and veteran newspaper executive David Montgomery. In addition, two unidentified foreign investment groups remain in the running.
Zahawi is reported to have approached a number of billionaires to back his bid, which also includes The Spectator magazine, which is being sold by the Abu Dhabi-backed Red Bird IMI fund. Johnson’s involvement in Zahawi’s bid could attract further interest from investors.
Other potential bidders, including Belgian publisher Mediahuis and Lord Rothermere, owner of the Daily Mail, were excluded from the process, with the latter pulling out over concerns about regulatory scrutiny.
Red Bird IMI was forced to put The Telegraph up for sale after a ministerial intervention blocked its takeover of the paper over press freedom concerns. The sale process began after Red Bird paid off £1.2bn in debt owed by the Barclay family, the paper’s former owner, to Lloyds Banking Group.
A spokesman for Boris Johnson declined to comment, while Nadhim Zahawi did not respond to requests for comment.