Hedge fund tycoon Sir Paul Marshall is poised to buy The Spectator magazine in a deal worth about £100 million.
The PA news agency understands that the GB News backer is expected to be announced as the publication’s new owner within days.
The deal is likely to conclude a turbulent period regarding the ownership of the title, amid an ongoing auction for fellow media business Telegraph Media Group (TMG).
TMG and the Spectator were both owned by the billionaire Barclay family until last year.
The businesses were put up for sale to help pay off debts from the family to lenders at banking firm Lloyds.
They were sold to media consortium RedBird IMI, a group backed by the United Arab Emirates and US investment firm RedBird, through a call option worth £600 million.
However, in March, the UK Government forced RedBird IMI to put the media businesses back on the market after launching legislation blocking foreign states from owning UK newspaper assets.
Separate auction processes were launched for the Spectator and TMG.
Last month, RedBird IMI started exclusive talks with Sir Paul, who also backs the Unherd publication, over a takeover deal for the Spectator.
He is expected to secure the takeover by the end of the week for as much as £100 million.
Sir Paul is also among the potential suitors seeking to buy TMG, as part of a consortium backed by US billionaire Ken Griffin.
It has been reported that National World, the newspaper group which owns the Scotsman, is also seeking to buy the Daly telegraph and Sunday Telegraph publisher.
RedBird IMI declined to comment. Sir Paul has been contacted for comment.
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