Permira, the British private equity group, has emerged as a potential suitor for Reed Business Information, the trade magazines arm of Reed Elsevier, which could soon be for sale for about £1.25 billion.

Permira joins a line-up of buyout firms including Cinven, Candover, CVC and Providence Equity Partners that are circling the owner of magazine titles such as New Scientist and Computer Weekly.

It is also understood that Apax and Guardian Media Group (GMG), which recently acquired Emap's business-to-business arm together for £1 billion, have held discussions in the past two weeks about the possibility of jointly bidding for the magazines business.

The interest in Reed Business Information comes as it emerged that trade players including United Business Media and Informa are not interested in the assets. But a sale to private equity could prove problematic if the buyout groups are unable to raise the financing for a deal amid the global squeeze on credit.

While conversations between Apax and GMG are at an early stage — an information memorandum has not yet been sent out — the pair see the acquisition of Reed Business Information as an opportunity for them to become a significant force in business-to-business publishing.

A combination of Reed's magazine division with the publishing assets acquired from Emap would lead to obvious synergies, sources said.

Sir Crispin Davis, Reed Elsevier's chief executive, said last month that the group was considering options to divest its business publishing arm.

Reed Elsevier, which is being advised by UBS, said that other options would also be considered, but it is understood that a sale is the preferred option if the necessary financing can be secured.

Reed Elsevier will retain Reed Business Information's profitable exhibitions business — a move that could deter some potential bidders.

Reed said last month that pre-tax profits for the year to December 31 rose 20 per cent to £812 million and that it is targeting cost savings of £245 million by 2011.

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