According to a report in the Financial Times, Chris Bullivant, chairman of Observer Standard Media which owns a stable of free newspapers including the Worcestershire Gazette and the Leamington Observer, is also believed to be in the running.
Other parties that have previously expressed an interest include Sir Digby Jones, the former director-general of the CBI.
The firms that have made it to the second round will now go through presentations from the management of the Midland titles, which include the Birmingham Post and the Coventry Evening Telegraph.
Exponent, which owns the Times Educational Supplement, is also believed to be through to the second round of bids for Trinity Mirror's Racing Post. There are six bidders in contention with the next round of bidding expected in mid-May.
Late last year, Trinity Mirror announced plans to sell off the racing daily and its regional newspaper titles in the Midlands following a four-month strategic review.
The company reported a 13.8% fall in annual pre-tax profits late last month to £185.4m, together with falling revenues blamed on poor "cyclical" advertising market conditions..jpg)
.jpg)