Private equity group HgCapital is considering making a formal takeover approach to the board of Wilmington, the media company that bought Press Gazette after it briefly ceased publication in December 2006.

At the same time, there have been reports in the national press that Wilmington is planning to take the title monthly from September.

Editor Dominic Ponsford said he was unable to comment on the reports, but senior sources at the magazine have have flatly denied claims in the Independent that no work is being commissioned beyond the August 15 edition.

The company's failure to kill the story yesterday led media pundit and former Mirror editor Roy Greenslade to conclude that there "may be something to the move from weekly to monthly publication."

Commenting on his blog, he said: "When executives refuse to confirm or deny rumours, it does encourage speculation."

The rumoured changes to the in-print publication are not thought to impact on the magazine website operation, which is updated daily.

Sources close to HgCapital said at the weekend that it would decide whether to make an offer for Wilmington within the next few weeks.

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