Sawiris denies he is to buy Independent

Egyptian billionaire Samih Sawiris has denied he is in talks with Russian billionaire and former KGB spy Alexander Lebedev, to buy the Independent group of newspapers in the UK.

Sawiris on Wednesday said that he had no interest in buying the Independent and Independent on Sunday, according to newswire Bloomberg.

The UK’s Guardian newspaper had reported that Lebedev was understood to be attempting to bring Sawiris in as a partner in his proposed takeover of Independent News & Media.

Sawiris runs the Orascom empire real estate and hotel division which owns and operates hotels in Egypt, Jordan, Oman, UAE and Switzerland. He is the middle son of Orascom conglomerate founder Onsi Sawiris.

According to the Guardian, Lebedev had told associates that he expected Sawiris to invest; the men are already partners in a chateau development in Switzerland, the newspaper said.