London newspaper sold to Russian

The Daily Mail & General Trust said the sale of the Evening Standard, one of Britain’s leading newspapers to a former KGB officer, would save the publication.

Russian oligarch Alexander Lebedev, once a lieutenant colonel with the Soviet KGB, is set to purchase controlling interest the Evening Standard, The Times of London reported Wednesday.

With the sale, the Daily Mail & General Trust will own 24.9 percent of Evening Press, the company formed by Lebedev and his son Evgeny Lebedev, The Times said.

DMGT Chief Executive Officer Martin Morgan said, the investment planned by Lebedev secures the future of the paper.

DMGT will benefit from the reduction in losses and will continue to invest in the development of our newspapers and other businesses, he said.

Where once there was 14, the Evening Standard is the last surviving evening paper for sale in London, but circulation has fallen and competition from free newspapers eroded readership, The Times said.

In 2008, the newspaper lost between $13 million and $26 million, The Times said.

The Times said the Evening Standard was sold for a nominal sum.