AOL Time Warner is currently looking for a chief operating officer after Robert Pittman quit last week as part of a reorganisation that has placed the internet and media giant firmly in the control of the former Time Warner management.
However, it is not yet clear whether this is the job that has been offered to Middelhoff.
Middelhoff has said he is not in any hurry to jump into a new job, and he is currently negotiating a severance package with Bertelsmann.
Speculation earlier today that he was being lined up as the chief executive of Deutsche Telekom was quashed by the Germany telecoms firm, which said the reports were without basis.
Bertelsmann and AOL have had a long-standing relationship through their joint venture internet service AOL Europe, which was overseen by Middelhoff. AOL bought Bertelsmann's 49% stake in the venture at the beginning of this year for £4.7bn.
Middelhoff is believed to have been forced to leave the German company after a row over strategy with the company's shareholders. It is understood that Middelhoff's desire to float the company on the stock market turned shareholders against him.
Bertelsmann's ownership is currently split 17.3% to the Mohn family, 57.6% to the Bertelsmann Foundation and 25.1% to Group Bruxelles Lambert.
The company's flotation, which has been mooted for several years, has become a contentious issue because the company would not be able to use shares as currency in acquisitions.
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