Ex-KGB officer eyes newspaper

Russian oligarch and ex-KGB officer Alexander Lebedev is continuing an effort to buy a controlling stake in the London Evening Standard newspaper from Daily Mail and General Trust Plc, a person with direct knowledge of the bid said.

Lebedev yesterday was awaiting an answer on the proposal to acquire 75 percent plus one share, a person familiar with the talks said. A Daily Mail spokesman declined to comment. Lebedev, a 49-year-old millionaire who was worth billions until markets collapsed last year, said he's held talks with the owners of top UK newspapers, including Evening Standard owner Lord Rothermere, for more than a year.

"This is not my way to make money, but I'd like to explain to the public that newspapers are something they should love and cherish," Lebedev said in an interview on Wednesday. "Obviously I would be in charge of the financial side" and wouldn't play a role in news content, he said.