Print giant RR Donnelley, Canadian rival Transcontinental and private equity firms Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR) and Cerberus Capital Management LP are all rumoured to be sounding out Quebecor World.

Quebecor World has been in financial freefall since the failed £129m takeover bid from Roto Smeets, the backbone of its £367m refinancing plan.

The possible bidders would be more interested in acquiring Quebecor World as a single unit, rather than moving for selective asset sales, reported leading Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail.

According to Nicholas Mockett of Europa Partners, there are three possible outcomes to the saga: parent company Quebecor Inc could step in to prop up the print division, sell it off or let it fall into administration.

"It would be a risky strategy not to support it. I suspect that if they put it into administration, it would create a hell of a mess for them," Mockett told printweek.com.

Mockett pinned Cerberus as one of the more likely bidders for "this kind of acquisition. For Cerberus, buying a 'distressed asset' is the order of the day."

He would be "surprised" if RR Donnelley stepped in, as its recent acquisition strategy had focused on "non-manufacturing situations".

Mockett added that RR Donnelley had spent "billions of dollars" on takeovers in recent years. "It would be a bold step to acquire something of the scale of Quebecor while trying to integrate their existing acquisitions."

He doubted Quebecor's smaller print rival Transcontinental's chances, as "unless they have a particularly ungeared balance sheet, it's difficult to see how they'd do it. Funding is always going to be a challenge."

Quebecor also announced that Wes Lucas has been replaced in the top role by chief financial officer Jacques Mallette with immediate effect. Lucas, who joined in May 2006, was said to have departed "to pursue other opportunities".

Mallette takes charge of a firm at the brink of collapse, with shares closing at C$1.52, down more than 90% from their year high of C$17.25.