Speculation about a break-up of the national and regional newspaper company has increased, following last week's resignation of Trinity Mirror chief executive Philip Graf, news of whose departure comes in the wake of an expensive relaunch and costly price-cutting campaign for the Daily Mirror.
Graf is due to go in the summer of 2003 and chairman Victor Blank is heading the search for a replacement. He is under intense pressure from shareholders to find a way of increasing the company's value, which is seen as being dragged down by the money-losing national newspapers.
Few names have so far emerged to take over from Graf, although Trinity Mirror managing director Joe Sinyor is seen as one possible internal candidate.
The move to break up the group, which was only formed in 1999 following the merger of regional newspaper firm Trinity and Mirror Group, are being pushed by powerful shareholder groups including fund firm Tweedy Browne in the US, which owns 5.6% of the company.
Reports suggest that Morgan maybe backed in his bid to buy the Daily and Sunday Mirror by Harrods boss Mohammed Al Fayed. The two are close and Fayed, who also owns Premiership football club Fulham, has tried to buy a national UK newspaper several times in the past.
If reports of the Morgan bid are true, it is likely that Blank will ask him to resign from his post as editor.
In July, Trinity Mirror reported a 4.6% fall in profits, and advertising revenues on its national newspapers, which also include The People and the Sunday Mirror, were down 8%.
Interim operating profits in the six months to June 30 fell to £95.9m, down from £100.5m last year, as the group invested £6.5m in marketing, most of which is thought to have been spent on its costly price-cutting war with The Sun.
Trinity Mirror was forced to call off the expensive price campaign in May after several weeks, although it continues to sell the Daily Mirror in the London region for 20p.
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