It also reported that Hearst, the US media group that plans to buy Emap's consumer magazines division and put it together with its existing UK business The National Magazine Company, has been talking to Exponent, another of the private equity bidders.
Exponent is after the collection of special interest titles within Emap's consumer portfolio, such as Angling Times, while Hearst is focused on the general titles such as Closer and FHM.
Duncan Edwards, the chief executive of NatMags, has met with executives from Exponent.
Hearst is also understood to have talked to Quadrangle, the private equity group that recently acquired Dennis Publishing's US titles, about a joint bid.
Second-round bids for Emap's divisions are due in later this month and Cinven is still believed to be in contention for the business-to-business division, valued at £1.2bn.
Cinven is a former owner of the UK's biggest magazine group, IPC. It sold IPC to Time Warner for £1.15bn in 2001.
If Emap's shareholders believe selling off the company will not generate a sufficient return they may throw their weight behind a plan led by former managing director Sir David Arculus. This would involve Arculus taking charge again with a brief to reshape the company.
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