An investors' group headed by Loew und Vorderwuelbecke bought DDP at the beginning of this year from its previous owner, holding company Arques Industries.

Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) is the leading news agency in the fiercely competitive German market. France's AFP and Reuters also offer German-language services.

Declining revenue in the United States has forced AP to introduce a programme of cost-cutting and client rebates amounting to $32 million.

The news agency has already sold its Dutch-language service, but efforts to sell off its French service collapsed owing to opposition from staff.