Russian ex-KGB officer buys Britain's Independent
Russian tycoon Alexander Lebedev bought Britain's struggling Independent and Independent on Sunday newspapers. Lebedev, an ex KGB agent, paid one pound (1.1 euros, 1.5 dollars) for the papers, while its current owners will pay 9.25 million pounds in the next 10 months to his firm Independent Print Limited (IPL) for taking on future liabilities, reports AFP.
"I believe that the Lebedevs will be progressive and supportive owners of the Independent titles which have played such an important role in British public life for nearly 25 years," said INM's group chief executive Gavin O'Reilly.
Lebedev, a wealthy Russian oligarch, bought London's Evening Standard newspaper for a nominal one pound in January last year in a deal which made him co-owner with his son Evgeny. It became a free paper in October.
In an interview with AFP in Moscow on Thursday, Lebedev did not speak directly about his latest purchases but pledged: "The printed media is not dead and will not die".
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