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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| Ex-KGB spy buys Evening Standard | Ex-KGB spy buys Evening Standard |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Russian ex-KGB agent Alexander Lebedev has been given the go-ahead to buy the London Evening Standard newspaper, the paper's publishers have confirmed. | Russian ex-KGB agent Alexander Lebedev has been given the go-ahead to buy the London Evening Standard newspaper, the paper's publishers have confirmed. |
| The Daily Mail & General Trust said it had agreed to the sale of a majority interest in the paper to Mr Lebedev. | The Daily Mail & General Trust said it had agreed to the sale of a majority interest in the paper to Mr Lebedev. |
| The billionaire businessman is believed to have made an offer for a 76% share of the paper. | The billionaire businessman is believed to have made an offer for a 76% share of the paper. |
| He has previously revealed that he used the paper to find out information when he was a young spy based in London. | He has previously revealed that he used the paper to find out information when he was a young spy based in London. |
| 'Brilliant journalists' | |
| Mr Lebedev's fortune, which is reported to be worth around $3.1bn (£2.1bn), was made mostly through banking, insurance companies and from his stake in the Russian airline Aeroflot. | Mr Lebedev's fortune, which is reported to be worth around $3.1bn (£2.1bn), was made mostly through banking, insurance companies and from his stake in the Russian airline Aeroflot. |
| In 2006, he teamed up with ex-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to buy the Russian paper Novaya Gazeta and his property portfolio includes a string of boutique hotels across Europe. | |
| Mr Lebedev has described the Standard as a "very good newspaper" with some "brilliant journalists". | Mr Lebedev has described the Standard as a "very good newspaper" with some "brilliant journalists". |
| BBC media correspondent Torin Douglas has said the Evening Standard had been hit by the advertising downturn and a fierce free newspaper battle in London. | BBC media correspondent Torin Douglas has said the Evening Standard had been hit by the advertising downturn and a fierce free newspaper battle in London. |