According to Sky News, Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly is in talks for a joint bid with media tycoon David Montgomery over the acquisition of British daily broadsheet newspaper The Daily Telegraph. Boehly’s investment company, Eldridge Industries, is said to be in advanced talks with Montgomery, formerly in charge of Mirror newspaper.
The Daily Telegraph, also known as The Telegraph, is headquartered in London, where Chelsea is also domiciled. This explains why Todd Boehly may be interested in acquiring the media company.
As per the abovementioned source, Boehly and Montgomery aren’t just considering purchasing The Telegraph. The pair are also considering merging the Telegraph Group with National World, a publicly listed media company owned by Montgomery.
While discussions between Boehly’s investment vehicle and David Montgomery are ongoing, the report has claimed that no formal bid has been made yet. Nothing is yet set in stone, and there is no guarantee that it will lead to a formal offer for The Telegraph.
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To know whether his decision to buy the newspaper company is right, Boehly is said to have reached out to Deutsche Numis, a leading force in UK investment, to guide him in his decisions.
The Chelsea co-owner reportedly met David Montgomery in January to deliberate The Telegraph situation, but there has been little sign of progression on an agreement ever since.
Sky News further claimed that Montgomery’s National World said on Friday (March 28) that it noticed speculation relating to an approach for the company from Eldridge Industries.
The statement read:
"The Company has received confirmation that EMH is considering making a proposal to acquire the entire issued and to be issued share capital the company but to date no details of any such proposal has been received by the National World board (including as to its possible terms, timing or process for implementation)."
Adding to the intrigue, sources close to the discussions claimed the Boehly-Montgomery consortium have reached out to third-party investors to help them with funding for the acquisition.
Simon Jordan teases possible Chelsea position after holding talks with Todd Boehly
Former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan has suggested that he could offer a helping hand to Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly. Last September, The Telegraph reported Chelsea were on the brink of a civil war after Boehly’s working relationship with Clearlake Capital reached a breaking point. Both parties were said to have considered buying each other out.
During a recent discussion on talkSPORT, Jordan hinted at a potential advisory role with Todd Boehly at Chelsea. He referred to his decade-long tenure as owner of Crystal Palace, suggesting that his experience could benefit the American business magnate, whom he has met before.
When Simon Jordan was asked by host Jim White if he would get involved with them, he responded:
"Not involved with them commercially, involved with them to have discussions. Because they like some of the things that have been written, they pay attention to some of the things that I've said about them. That doesn't give me any cachet or kudos, it's just an observation."
When asked if he’d speak to Todd Boehly and founder of Clearlake Capital, Behdad Eghbali, the former Crystal Palace owner said:
"Yes and no, just out of maudlin interest. In the same way that I was motivated to sit talking to Boehly in Qatar, because these guys are influential people. Chelsea's a... whilst I consider it to be a manufactured football club, much to the irritation of Chelsea fans, is a big football club now, in terms of the scale that Roman Abramovich gave it, so it's interesting."
