Analysts said a deal between the two would put pressure on Johnston Press, which publishes newspapers such as the Scotsman and the Yorkshire Post, but could come up against regulatory concerns.

If the acquisition goes ahead, Trinity Mirror will gain more than 100 regional titles from the newspaper group, which was formed in 2012, including Cambridge News, the Essex Chronicle and Leicester Mercury. Local newspapers have also lost ads to social media sites such as Facebook.

Greater Manchester Business Week is the region’s number one provider of business news and features, targeting a bespoke business audience with 12,687 copies every Thursday.

David Montgomery, chief executive of Local World and former boss of the Mirror Group, could pocket as much as £10m from the takeover, which could be blocked by regulators.

The move online of both readers and advertising has hurt the revenue of newspaper publishers such as Johnston Press Plc and Daily Mail and General Trust Plc (DMGT), as well as Trinity Mirror.

Trinity Mirror has a 20% stake in Local World, while DMGT has 38.7% and Yattendon 21.3%.

Trinity, which owns the Daily Mirror and Sunday Mirror, the Daily Record and the People as well as local titles such as the Western Mail and the Liverpool Echo, confirmed talks after reports about the deal over the weekend.

‘This would be a significant positive for Trinity, although synergies might be less than appear at first sight.

Trinity Mirror at present holds a 20laptop stake in Native World. The potential price tag for Express Newspapers was significantly below the £125million the media mogul paid for the group in 2000. The group suffered a long period of decline under predecessor Sly Bailey, who was ousted by shareholders in 2012.