Gannett out of Telegraph bidding?

SHORTLY after Daily Express owner Richard Desmond decided not to bid for the Telegraph group, it appears that American newspaper giant Gannett has also pulled out of the race.

Gannett, which owns America's best-selling newspaper USA Today as well as the Herald newspaper in Glasgow, was said to have described the price being asked as 'crazy' and added that it will not go through to second-round bidding.

Desmond's offer for the Daily Telegraph, Sunday Telegraph and Spectator magazine - all part of Hollinger International - was thought to have been less than £550m. He dropped out when he realised he would have to raise his bid.

The remaining runners and riders include the Barclay brothers, publishers of The Scotsman and The Business, Daily Mail publisher DMGT, which also owns This Is Money, and venture capitalists Apax Partners, Candover and 3i. Hollinger and Gannett failed to return calls.