After a torturous 17 months of uncertainty, the Daily Telegraph looks set to have a new owner. The frontrunner, who has now entered exclusive talks to buy the newspaper, is the 39-year-old media businessman Dovid Efune, who was born in England but has built most of his media career in the United States, including with the online newspaper the New York Sun. But, given Efune’s existing political ties, staff are already “very concerned” about what a change of proprietor could mean for the 169-year-old business.
He is the last bidder standing after veteran newsman David Montgomery, former Tory Chairman Nadhim Zahawi’s consortium and new Spectator owner Paul Marshall were knocked out or left the process. The £550m deal could be completed in as little as six weeks once due diligence has been carried out and Ofcom and Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy sign it off.
As part of his bid, Efune is already making a show of saying the right things to staff and readers. In a statement released on Monday, he said: “The Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph symbolise the very best of world-class, independent journalism and a commitment to relentlessly seeking the public interest. As a lifelong newsman – variably as reporter, columnist, editor and now publisher – I believe strongly that these values, in general, are fundamental to the advancement of any journalistic enterprise. It’s with these principles that the Telegraph is best positioned for even greater success going forward.”
Efune was born in Manchester but lives in New York, where he was editor of the Jewish publication, Algemeiner Journal. Three years ago he brought the New York Sun out of hibernation, running it as a conservative digital-only product. Alarm bells are already ringing at the Telegraph that Efune’s experience at the Sun may convince him to ditch the print product.
The major concern is whether Efune may attempt to overly influence editorial policy. Soon after taking over the Sun, Efune told Jewish Insider: “The Sun is a general-interest paper, but it’s also a Zionist newspaper.” He also recently told an audience that in the Israel-Hamas conflict there is a need to “fight with every report and headline”. One Telegraph insider told me: “That quote has really worried people here. Our job isn’t to fight with every report and headline – it’s to report the news.”
There are additional calls for greater clarity about who exactly is backing Efune’s bid. The Financial Times has reported Efune is in talks with equity investors including Stand Together, a group founded by ultra conservative American billionaire Charles Koch, who was listed among America’s “top climate villains” by the Guardian in 2021. Greenpeace research has shown that between 1997 and 2018, Koch Family Foundations spent $145,555,197 on groups that have attacked climate change science. Other backers are believed to include Lord Michael Farmer, who has also backed Efune’s New York Sun and is a founder of GB News.
Chris Evans has edited the Telegraph since 2014, but insiders are doubtful that he will stay in post for long after the change of owner. One possible successor could be Fraser Nelson, whose impeccable Tory contacts and ability to build subscriptions at the Spectator made him a popular editor before his recent replacement by Michael Gove. Former Express editor Gary Jones could also be in the frame, while others have suggested there could be a role for Times associate editor Daniel Finkelstein.
And what of a shift in the Telegraph’s position on domestic affairs? One person it looks likely there will be a role for is commentator Julie Burchill, who has become a regular writer for the New York Sun. Only this week Burchill was extensively quoted in a Sun editorial about the UK Tory leadership contest: “Beautiful, bold Mrs. Badenoch is going to look mighty appealing to a jaded electorate in four years time [sic].” Perhaps a new editorial line for the Telegraph too?
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