The owner of the Daily Mail newspaper is considering a bid for American internet giant Yahoo.
A spokesman for the Daily Mail and General Trust said discussions were “at a very early stage”.
The struggling California-based firm has invited bids from interested parties, with an April 18 deadline set for preliminary offers.
“Given the success of DailyMail.com and Elite Daily we have been in discussions with a number of parties who are potential bidders,” said the spokesman for DMGT.
“Discussions are at a very early stage and there is no certainty that any transaction will take place.”
The Wall Street Journal reported that DMGT was discussing potential deals for Yahoo in conjunction with six private equity firms, including General Atlantic.
Should an offer be made, it would likely see a private equity partner acquiring Yahoo’s core web business and the Daily Mail taking on its news and media properties and potentially merging them with their existing platforms.
American giants Verizon – which owns AOL – and Time Inc have been linked with bids while Bloomberg reported that Google is also considering making an offer.
Loss-making Yahoo is under pressure from shareholders and plans to cut 15% of its workforce, with shares having fallen around 30% since the end of 2014.
There were even calls from activist hedge fund investor Starboard Value for the entire board to be replaced.