Four different consortia have tabled bids worth up to Euros2bn for the bulk of KirchMedia's television and film rights.

A consortium including Germany's Commerzbank and Sony's Columbia TriStar is reported to have offered Euros 2bn, as has another consortium whose members include German publishers Axel Springer and Bauer Verlag and HVB Bank.

Other bidders are said to include a group including French broadcaster TF1 and US billionaire Haim Saban, and another consortium of former KirchMedia shareholders Lehman Brothers, German retail chain Rewe and Saudi Prince Al Waleed bin Talal.

The consortia are bidding solely for KirchMedia's television and film rights plus its production arm - but not for Kirch's sports rights.

Separately, half a dozen private equity investors are reported to have shown interest in buying the Kirch Group's pay-TV arm Premiere. Goldman Sachs, Apax Partners, Warburg Pincus and Permira were named as early bidders according to Reuters.