According to Yahoo News, Lloyds Banking Group Plc has received £1.2 billion ($1.5 billion) from the owners of the Telegraph newspaper, marking the end of the bank's involvement in a saga that has led to government investigations and sparked a nationwide discussion on freedom of the press. The repayment came from Penultimate Investment Holdings Limited, the Barclay family company that indirectly owns Telegraph Media Group Ltd. and the Spectator (1828) Ltd.
Lloyds said in a statement, 'We are always keen to work constructively with customers who get into difficulty with their repayments to reach an amicable solution. We'd like to thank all parties for their role in reaching this point.' The repayment marks a significant turnaround for Lloyds, which had seized both the Telegraph newspaper and Spectator magazine in June after years of negotiations with the Barclay family. Analysts initially expected the auction to yield only half of the £1.2 billion owed by the family.
The repayment could result in a windfall of about £500 million for Lloyds, which had written off the majority of the debt years ago. Gary Greenwood, an analyst at Shore Capital, said the repayment could bolster capital generation and potentially support a larger than expected share buyback. He currently expects Lloyds to announce plans to repurchase £2 billion of shares when it announces earnings in February, which could increase to £2.5 billion if all the net benefit was returned to shareholders.
