The saga of American Apparel Inc., the downtown L.A. clothing maker that has been roiled in recent weeks by the firing of its founder and chief executive, the hiring of a replacement and stories of a possible takeover, took another turn over the weekend as London buyout firm Lion Capital was said to have urged the company to form a committee to consider selling itself.

Both the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg reported that American Apparel’s board received a letter from Lion, a former lender which has a seat on the board and has the power to appoint more board seats. The company declined to comment on the story.

Lion, which has an office in Los Angeles, also declined to comment, saying in an email that it does not comment on media speculation on portfolio companies. Lion Capital invested in American Apparel in 2009 and the apparel maker repaid the loan in 2013, according to the investment firm.

The company did deny a report in the New York Post that it was planning to slow production at its L.A. manufacturing operations as a cost-savings move.

In an email, a spokeswoman for the company denied the report, saying: “American Apparel’s factory is operating in the ordinary course of business. Our stores are fully stocked. We’ve had a successful holiday season. Our employees have been working overtime to meet the holiday demand, and now that the holiday season is over, we plan to adjust shift schedules as we do every January.”