Leo Kirch is expected to hand over control over the group

"The banks have in principle agreed on a working capital loan of 100m euros (�64m; $88.3m)," the sources said.

The aim of the financial support would be to ensure that the failed subsidiary of the Kirch media group can go on as a going concern.

The search is on for new investors and a new set of managers who will be given the task of restructuring KirchMedia.

Leo Kirch, the 75-year old founder of Kirch Gruppe, is expected to hand over control of the group.

A giant's downfall

The German media giant owns the broadcast rights to the football World Cup and Formula One motor racing

KirchMedia filed for insolvency on 8 April following the collapse of several months of talks with its creditors and investors.

It marked Germany's biggest corporate collapse since World War II.

However, most of Kirch's lucrative sports rights and other assets, including its stake in the popular tabloid Bild, are held by other subsidiaries, keeping them well away from the claws of creditors and administrators.

Pay TV

Kirch Media's shareholders include the media mogul Rupert Murdoch and the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's family's Mediaset.

Neither of the two have offered further help for Kirch Media, though Mr Murdoch is believed to be in talks about the future of Kirch Pay TV.

The pay TV unit is seen as the cause of much of the Kirch group's problems, not least its mountain of debts believed to be in the region of 6.5bn euros.

Kirch Pay TV's own insolvency filing has been expected for days, though some analysts said the subsidiary would remain safe as long as the talks with Mr Murdoch continue.

Mr Murdoch's BSkyB owns 22% of Kirch Pay TV.