Bertelsmann, owner of book publisher Random House, has approached its subsidiary RTL about buying the remaining 10% of shares it does not own.
In a statement, RTL said: “RTL Group acknowledges that Bertelsmann indicated that it was considering making an offer to acquire all the outstanding shares in RTL Group not already owned by Bertelsmann, subject to a number of conditions precedent.
“RTL Group understands that no offer has been approved yet by the Bertelsmann executive and supervisory boards and that there can be no assurance that any offer will be made by Bertelsmann.
“Should Bertelsmann make an offer, RTL Group will assess such offer in accordance with the interests of the company, its employees and its minority shareholders.”