Trinity International Holdings, the owner of the Sunday Business Post, the Belfast Telegraph, along with about 120 other British regional and provincial titles, has made an offer for the Derry Journal, the Donegal Democrat and the Donegal People's Press, it is believed.

No details were available yesterday, though it is likely the offer was in the region of £18 million.

It is also believed that the managing director, Mr Colm McCarroll, made a bid to become the sole owner. A third party believed to be interested in purchasing the group is the Mirror Group, the publisher of the Daily and Sunday Mirror and the News Letter, published in Belfast.

Yesterday it emerged that a number of other groups have also indicated their interest in acquiring the Journal group. It is believed they include Independent Newspapers; Scottish Radio Holdings, which owns the Morton Group of Northern Ireland newspapers and a local consortium.

A spokeswoman for Trinity had no comment to make. The editor of the Derry Journal, Mr Pat McArt, said: "the newspapers have not been sold, but we are up for sale".

Last year, Trinity bought the Sunday Business Post. At that time the managing director of Trinity, Mr Philip Graf, was reported as saying the group was interested in other Irish media acquisitions.

The Derry Journal and the other newspapers in the group are owned entirely by the McCarroll family since 1925. The Journal was founded in the 18th century. It is believed that the papers are very profitable. The Derry Journal is published twice a week, with sales of 26,000 on Tuesday and 27,000 on Friday. It also publishes a free-sheet called Journal Extra. The Donegal Democrat has sales of 19,000 a week. The Donegal People's Press is a recent purchase.

If Trinity International did acquire the Derry Journal it would gain control of a modern printing plant at the Journal's premises outside Derry. This could be used to relieve the pressure at the Belfast Telegraph where its printing facilities are running at full capacity. Among the titles it is printing in Belfast, along with the Belfast Telegraph, are the Irish edition of the Sun, the News Of The World, the Sunday Life, the Sunday Business Post and colour pages for the Irish News.

Until last week it appeared that Trinity International might acquire the Mirror Group. It withdrew from talks when the German media group, Springer, showed it was interested. It is assumed that if Springer withdrew, Trinity would be back with an offer.

Meanwhile, Ireland On Sunday is still refusing to comment on the talks it is having with the Daily Mail about launching a daily newspaper in the Republic.

It is believed that the plan is for Ireland On Sunday to take on the Mail as a strategic partner. The Mail would supply features material, with Ireland On Sunday supplying Irish news and sports content. It is believed that up to 70 per cent of the content would be Irish-originated.

While such a newspaper would, to some extent, fill the void left by the Irish Press, the bulk of its readers would have to come from the Irish Independent.