Hakan Koç, a German businessman has already made an offer to buy Truphone for £1 in May, with a commitment to invest £15 million in the company.
Straub, who set up the company in 2006 has concerns about the direction of it under the current bidders according to sources from the FT.
The businessman has submitted a last-minute bid to buy back Truphone for US$250 million worth of shares in a special purpose acquisition company that listed in New York last year, raising almost US$300 million.
The FT article adds that Truphone is not taking Straub’s offer seriously as there are concerns about the use of a Spac to purchase the company.
According to Business Insider, Truphone was valued at US$512 million in 2020 and has received almost US$375 million in investment from Abramovich and two business partners Alexander Abramov and Alexander Frolov.
In April, the company faced an FCC fine for failing to disclose its Russian ties, after it emerged that Abramovich held a 23% stake.
