Alexander Lebedev will pay a token £1 later this week to take control of the Independent, according to a report in the Sunday Times.
The price is the same as a newsstand copy of the Independent – and also the same price he paid for the London Evening Standard last year.
However, the report claims Lebedev ‘will pledge to invest millions in the loss-making title and the Independent on Sunday over five years’after striking a deal with INM to ‘supply articles to its other newspapers in South Africa and Ireland.”
Lebedev is also expected to commit to five years of the ten year contract with Trinity Mirror to print the Independent.
The likely sale of the Independent and the Independent on Sunday to Lebedev moved a step closer on Thursday with confirmation that a submission has been lodged with the Office of Fair Trading over the proposed deal.
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