Now in the hands of Russian billionaire Alexander Lebedev, London’s Evening Standard could be floated on the London exchange in an attempt to incentivise staff through share options, as Guardian.co.uk reports. It’s not the best time in financial history to expose your business to the volatility of market — just ask Johnston Press, which has seen its share price drop from £4.65 two years ago to just £0.05 today — so Ledebev will probably wait until markets improve somewhat. The Russian doesn’t own the whole paper — he bought a 76 percent controlling stake from Daily Mail (LSE: DMGT) and General Trust, which retains the rest plus printing rights.
Lebedev has said on several occasions he isn’t interested in making money from the Standard, but he told journalists today he’s confident that the title can become profitable. Though still wildly rich, like many of his fellow Russian billionaires,t Lebedev has seen his private fortune drop dramatically in the past year and now says he’s “really short of cash”. According to Forbes.com he still has $3 billion, but his National Reserve Bank and his major stake in Russian airline Aeroflot are both worth a fraction of what they were a year ago.
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