Axel Springer, which publishes German tabloid Bild and broadsheet title Die Welt, was first reported to be interested in the Telegraph Group before Christmas.
Investment bank Lazards, which is handling the auction, has set a deadline of March 23 for all offers to be in. Other bidders include Daily Express owner Richard Desmond, the Daily Mail & General Trust and the Barclay Brothers, who own The Scotsman. UK stockbroker Collins Stewart is also believed to be considering a bid.
Collins Stewart chief executive Terry Smith told Reuters this morning that the company was contemplating whether or not to team up with someone else and bid for Hollinger as a whole. He said that the company had withdrawn from the bidding for the Telegraph newspapers because the price went beyond where the firm was prepared to offer.
Gannett, the US newspaper group that owns USA Today and regional newspapers in the UK, has also indicated it will bid.
Lazards is seeking bids for the whole of Hollinger International or individual parts, although it is understood that Hollinger International would prefer bids for the group as a whole.
Axel Springer considered buying The Daily Mirror five years ago and is believed to want to expand outside its domestic market.
Unlike the Daily Telegraph, Axel Springer's papers are pro-European and operate according to a guiding editorial principle to "further the unification of Europe".
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