Hollinger International, the publishing group behind the UK's Telegraph titles and the Chicago Sun-Times, will next week disclose financial data to second-round bidders as it seeks to break itself up.
The second-round bidders will be chosen over the next few days from a list of trade buyers and private equity firms that met last night's deadline for indicative offers.
Lazard, the investment bank asked by Hollinger to handle the asset sale, has accelerated the process as the publishing group proceeds with a potential break-up in the face of a rival disposal strategy for the assets being pursued by Lord Conrad Black, its former chief executive.
Yesterday's 5 p.m. deadline came ahead of next week's scheduled showdown over the disposal strategies in a Delaware court.
Among those to submit indicative offers yesterday was Daily Mail & General Trust (DMGT), the UK media group keen to acquire the Telegraph titles. That submission followed a £450 million (€663.6 million) to £500 million bid submitted this week by Express Newspapers, DMGT's rival.
Some observers argue that Lord Black's parallel plans to sell the assets to the UK's Barclay brothers for $466.5 million (€363 million) could make yesterday's exercise irrelevant.
Next week's Delaware court hearing will decide which side has the rights to sell the assets - Lord Black or Hollinger International.
Lord Black last month agreed to sell his controlling stake in Hollinger Inc - Hollinger International's controlling shareholder - to Press Holdings International, the Barclay brothers' acquisition vehicle. The Barclays' primary interest is the Telegraph Group, but they also bid for the other titles.
