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Dale Vince, green energy magnate and one of Labour’s most generous donors, has confirmed his interest in buying the Observer from the Guardian Media Group, giving the paper’s bosses a potential alternative in the event of a crisis. failure of an agreement concluded with James Harding’s Tortoise.
“We already have too many right-wing media barons (often tax exiles) controlling what people read, hear and end up believing,” Vince, whose fortune is estimated at more than £100 million, said on Friday .
He added: “If there is any problem in closing the deal (on the Turtle), I would like to enter into negotiations and would be interested in the idea of holding the title in a trust. »
Vince, who founded renewable energy provider Ecotricity and donated more than £5million to the Labor Party, did not reveal further details of how much he would gift or invest.
GMG said it had “not received any offers containing substantive details from any party other than Tortoise Media.”
Dale’s decision to reveal his interest comes a crucial few weeks into the planned sale of the Observer to Tortoise, the loss-making media start-up founded by Harding, a former Times editor and BBC News boss.
Harding raised money from a wide range of investors, including Gary Lubner, a South African donor to the Labor Party, to finance a five-year £25 million investment plan. The Guardian will also retain a minority stake.
The Scott Trust, the £1.3 billion fund that owns the Guardian and Observer, was due to meet on Monday, but people familiar with the matter said that meeting was postponed on Friday as members continued to negotiate and review the agreement.
The guard staff must withdraw on the first of two strikes on Wednesday. The Guardian’s editor-in-chief, Kath Viner, held a series of frosty meetings with staff this week, according to those familiar with the talks, during which she was questioned about the details of Tortoise’s offer.
Observer staff are opposed to Tortoise’s proposed takeover of the 232-year-old Sunday title, due to concerns about their jobs under the new ownership and the future of the title.
However, Guardian executives have made it clear that a strategic audit of the Sunday paper would be necessary if it was not sold.
