Russian Tycoon Says Near Deal for U.K. Paper

Russian tycoon Alexander Lebedev said he expects to close a deal shortly to buy Independent News and Media PLC's loss-making U.K. newspaper The Independent.

"As far as I understand most of the problems have been resolved," Mr. Lebedev said Friday in an interview, adding that U.K. media group Trinity Mirror Group PLC will be retained as the paper's printer.

Mr. Lededev once worked for the KGB in Britain, but his Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta been one of the most vocal critics of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. The banker, who last year bought London freesheet the Evening Standard, says newspaper ownership ...