It's believed they may be prepared to sell all or part of Setanta's US and Irish businesses, which remain profitable.
Setanta founders Michael O'Rourke and Leonard Ryan are thought to be seeking buyers for the US and Irish operations and hope that some of their wealthy business associates will agree to acquire them. Setanta Ireland is already 20 per cent owned by Denis Desmond, the Irish music promoter.
Separately, O'Rourke and Ryan are also believed to be working on a management buyout of the rest of the business. The broadcaster's next pressing deadline is a £30m payment to the English Premier League due on Monday.
Yesterday Setanta announced it had stopped taking on new subscriptions as "it attempts to secure the future of the business".