Kirch has been teetering on the brink of bankruptcy for days. Yesterday, shareholders gathered for last-ditch rescue talks, which broke up without agreement on how to save the company. Kirch is struggling with €8.8bn (£5.4bn) of debt and has had advisers looking at what assets it could dispose of to survive.
It was reported this morning that a group of bankers might make a last-minute final attempt today to agree on a deal, but according to widely quoted sources involved in the negotiations bankruptcy looks increasingly likely as investors run out of patience.
The talks in Los Angeles involved Rupert Murdoch and News Corporation executives who met with Kirch's bank creditors. They were discussing a possible takeover by News Corp of Premiere, the loss-making pay-TV network that has been a massive drain on Kirch.
Murdoch already holds 22% of Premiere through BSkyB. However, the stumbling block is that Premiere is thought to need around $1bn (£697.3m) in fresh capital, which News Corp does not want to provide.
Kirch also owns ProSiebenSAT.1, Germany's biggest TV broadcaster. Earlier reports have suggested this could fall to Italy's Silvio Berlusconi, causing a major political upset in Germany.
According to reports this morning, the prospect of a Kirch bankruptcy is sending shockwaves through football in Germany. KirchMedia owns a four-year contract for broadcast rights to all German football teams, many of which would go out of business if the money from Kirch dries up.
However, the German economics ministry has said today that it was prepared to provide credit guarantees to soccer teams to keep them afloat.
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