Virgin chief wants in on Daily Telegraph buy: report

0 Comments | AFP, May, 2004

BERLIN (AFP) — Billionaire Richard Branson, the chief executive of the Virgin Group, wants a share in Britain's influential Daily Telegraph newspaper but failed to get in on an offer to buy it made by German media group Axel Springer, according to a German news report.

Der Spiegel news magazine, in its Monday edition, reported that Branson had offered to team up with Springer and to acquire 51 percent of the newspaper, which is being offered by parent company Hollinger International.

A source close to the Springer bid confirmed Friday it had made an offer, but declined to reveal how much it was, saying only that press reports suggesting an offer of up to one billion euros (1.2 billion dollars) were "fantastical".

The source confirmed that Springer only...