THE directors of Irish Press Publications (IPP) Ltd said yesterday it had received shareholder approval to put the newspaper titles on the market.

In a short statement the company said the directors were taking immediate steps to initiate the "procedures necessary, to achieve a sale of the titles.

The three titles - The Sunday Press, Irish Press and Evening Press - have been off the streets for 18 months and industry sources say it is difficult to estimate how much they would fetch or how much interest they would attract.

Independent Newspapers is a 24.9 per cent shareholder in IPP and is owed over £1 million, which is secured against the titles.

It is understood that an outside agency will handle the sale.

Neither shareholder - Irish Press plc owns the remaining 75.1 per cent of the company - would comment on the sale last night.

Solicitors for IPP have written to several media organisations, including The Irish Times, Irish Independent and RTE threatening to sue over reports on comments made by the Minister for Enterprise and Employment, Mr Bruton, regarding the time lapse in putting the titles up for sale.