(Reuters) - The Daily Mail and General Trust has registered its interest with British bank Lloyds (LON:LLOY) for a potential bid for The Telegraph, a spokesperson told Reuters on Saturday.
However, while it has been engaging with several parties, DMGT does not yet have any formal plans and there is no consortium, the spokesperson added.
Sky News earlier reported that Lord Rothermere, chairman of both DMGT and its consumer division DMG media, is courting financial investors including funds based in the Middle East to support a bid for the Telegraph newspapers.
Individual external investors would be unlikely to own more than 20% of the Telegraph titles if they formed part of a consortium with the Daily Mail proprietor, the report added.
Lloyds in June seized control of the parent company of the Daily and Sunday Telegraph and political magazine The Spectator after a long-running dispute with their former owners, the Barclay family, over debts secured against the businesses. The debts run to more than 1 billion pounds, according to media reports.
Last month, the Telegraph and Spectator appointed investment bank Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) and law firm Linklaters to advise on their sale.