Here's a marriage made in hell

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The owner of the Daily Mail could take a stake in the Independent titles if they are acquired by the London Evening Standard's owner, Alexander Lebedev.Lebedev and executives at Independent News & Media, owner of the Independent and Independent on Sunday, are believed to he holding talks about closer cooperation between the three titles which could lead to the Russian billionaire acquiring the left-leaning papers.

The Daily Mail & General Trust retained a 24.99% share in Evening Standard Ltd when it sold a majority stake in the paper to Lebedev this year. If Lebedev buys the Independent titles, DMGT is likely to retain its shareholding in the new publishing company. With a 25% stake in the combined business, DMGT may be able to influence the direction of the Independent titles, although it would also be exposed to their losses, about £10m a year – but less since the papers moved into DMGT's offices in Kensington last month.

Sources close to DMGT said no talks were taking place between its chairman, Lord Rothermere, and Lebedev, but he is believed to monitoring developments.

It is thought that Lebedev and Simon Kelner, the managing director of the Independent titles, have spoken about closer co-operation between the three papers. Gavin O'Reilly, who replaced his father, Tony, as chief executive of INM at the company AGM yesterday, denied that the Russian billionaire had made a formal offer. Any talks had been about "operating synergies," he said.

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"Operating Synergies"

Gotta love corporate euphemisms.