The board of director's of Sotheby's Holdings has said it has asked its executive committee to open talks with the family of its former chairman about a possible sale of the auction house.

Alfred Taubman , the former chairman of Sotheby's, was found guilty last week of conspiring to fix commission fees on the sale of artworks.

The scam is estimated to have defrauded art sellers out of more than $400m during the 1990s.

Mr Taubman is the largest single shareholder in the auction house, but now faces up to three years in prison.

"The board of directors of Sotheby's Holdings Inc. today directed the company's executive committee to meet promptly with representatives of the Taubman family to discuss the possible sale of the company," the firm said in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).