Hedge fund billionaire and future media mogul Paul Marshall may be close to buying British magazine Spectator. The deal, worth over $131 million, could be announced as early as Tuesday, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. The Telegraph newspaper is also expected to be part of the deal, but any announcements on this will not be made until late September or early October.
Marshall beat out potential buyers, including Rupert Murdoch, chairman emeritus of News Corp, owner of The Wall Street Journal.
The British government had previously blocked RedBird IMI, an investment group whose main backer is a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family, from buying both the Spectator and the Telegraph in a deal worth around £600 million out of concern for press freedom.
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Who is Paul Marshall?
Paul Marshall is chairman of London-based Marshall Wace, one of the largest hedge funds with $68 billion in assets under management.
He founded the fund together with Ian Wace in 1997. According to the Sunday Times Rich List, his current net worth is $1.1 billion.
Marshall started UnHerd, a website that claims to be for “people who dare to think for themselves.”
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He later invested in GB News, a right-wing alternative broadcaster to the BBC, and remains one of its main backers. British regulators have found GB News to have breached British broadcasting regulations 12 times to date.
What is the Spectator Magazine?
The Spectator is a right-leaning British weekly news magazine focusing on politics, culture and current affairs. Former editors include former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
The 150-year-old publication had a relatively small circulation of about 93,000 copies in 2022, but is aimed at an upscale audience and is popular with British Conservatives.
In 2022, a profit of around £1.8 million was made, up from £2.2 million in the previous year.
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