Russian Tycoon Buys Struggling British Papers for 1 Pound Sterling

Russian tycoon Alexander Lebedev bought Britain's struggling Independent and Independent on Sunday newspapers for a token sum Thursday, a year after acquiring another top British title cheaply, reports AFP.

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.

The sale highlights the problems faced by many British newspapers who, like titles around the world, are struggling to attract advertising revenue and keep circulation high in the digital age.

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.

He has interests in banking and aviation and already co-owns, with ex-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, a 49-percent holding in the Novaya Gazeta newspaper, which has been critical of the Kremlin.

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."