It is understood that Sir Frederick Barclay telephoned an adviser to Hollinger International on Sunday and said he was "willing to consider" an offer to acquire all of Hollinger International for $18 a share.
The Barclays have already agreed a separate deal to buy Hollinger Incorporated, a Canadian holding company, which controls Hollinger International.
According to a report in The Times, the unnamed financial adviser called Sir Frederick back to say that the company was not interested in a bid "at that price".
Sunday's proposal to buy the shares, which were not part of the original offer, were said to legally fall short of a formal approach.
However, Hollinger, which publishes the Sunday and Daily Telegraph in London, the Chicago Sun-Times and the Jerusalem Post, denied late last night that any firm offer was on the table.
It indicated earlier this week that it opposed the Barclays brothers' deal and is seeking to block it while it proceeds with potentially selling the assets elsewhere.
Insiders close to Lord Black, the former chairman and chief executive of Hollinger International, said that the Barclays' interest represented a "substantial premium" for shareholders and that "something besides shareholder interest" was driving decisions at Hollinger.
However, others have suggested that the Barclays, by making the approach public, were trying to force shareholders to put pressure on the board to support their bid for Hollinger Incorporated.
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