British tycoons David and Frederick Barclay, who unsuccessfully tried to buy control of Daily Telegraph publisher Hollinger International from press baron Conrad Black, said on Sunday they still plan to bid for the UK newspaper.
A spokesman for the Barclays' Press Holdings International told Reuters that the brothers were prepared to bid, but just for the Telegraph - not for all of Hollinger International, which also owns the Jerusalem Post and a newspaper group centred around the Chicago Sun-Times.
The Barclays have a number of options in pursuing the paper, Britain's best-selling broad-sheet, which is closely identified with the views of the opposition Conservative party.
They could bid in league with a consortium of parties, with the company's assets to be divided afterwards; make a deal with a single bidder who would then sell the Telegraph to the Barclays, or put in a bid with Lazard for the Telegraph alone.
Investment bank Lazard has set a deadline on or around March 23 for bids, according to one bidder.
The Barclays' Press Holdings International had agreed to buy Black's majority share in Toronto-based Hollinger Inc, which in turn controls Hollinger International. But the deal was struck down by a US judge.
David Barclay issued a statement on Friday criticising the judge's ruling, and defending the conduct of the brothers in their dealings with Black. The embattled mogul is in a bitter feud with Hollinger International, which says he pocketed millions of dollars in unauthorised payments.
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