The majority owners of ProSiebenSat.1, the German television broadcaster, appear poised to begin negotiations with newspaper publisher Axel Springer on the sale of their stake.

Creditors of ProSieben's collapsed former owner on Wednesday removed an effective lock-up clause which had stood in the way of an early sale. Michael Jaff?, administrator of the insolvent Kirch media empire and a group of US investors led by Haim Saban, agreed to remove a clause which would have seen most of the proceeds from any sale before August 8 handed to creditors, FT Deutschland has learned.