By Rebecca Plenty From Bloomberg

•  Culture secretary says public-interest considerations at play
•  Evening Standard owner sold a 30% stake in the business

he U.K. government is leaning toward intervening in ownership changes at Evgeny Lebedev’s companies that publish the London Evening Standard tabloid and Independent website.

The Russian-British businessman’s father Alexander, a former KGB officer, bought the titles in 2009 and 2010 respectively for 1 pound ($1.27) apiece.

Britain keeps watch over transparency of media ownership as part of its effort to ensure free speech and accuracy in news. The push to intervene follows the sale of a stake in Lebedev Holdings Ltd. to a mystery buyer, first reportedby the Financial Times in January.

On Thursday, Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright said he’s looking at a recent transaction in which Evening Standard owner Lebedev Holdings sold a 30% stake to a company based in the Cayman Islands, as well as the 2017 sale of 30% of Independent Digital News and Media Ltd., the owner of the Independent, to another company in the Cayman Islands. Identities of shareholders of Cayman Islands companies are not publicly available.

In a public statement and a letter to Lebedev’s companies, Wright and his culture department outlined concerns that there may have been an ownership change that could have public interest considerations related to the need for accurate presentation of news and free expression of opinion.

The two Cayman Islands companies are both registered to the same address and have the same shareholders, as well as the ability to appoint two directors to Lebedev’s companies, gaining a “significant level of material influence” over them, according to the letter. The Competition and Markets Authority is also considering the transactions, it said in a separate statement.

A representative for Lebedev Holdings was not immediately available for comment.

— With assistance by Joe Mayes

For more on this story go to: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-06-13/u-k-leans-toward-intervening-in-lebedev-s-newspaper-stake-sale