Shares in UK broadcaster ITV jump after reported bid interest (updated)

Television Francaise 1 SA

25/11/2024 09:06

(Adds background, detail)
       LONDON, Nov 25 (Reuters) - 
    Shares in ITV  ITV.L  jumped on Monday on media reports that
the British broadcaster behind "I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of
Here" and "Coronation Street" could be a takeover target for a
team led by CVC Capital Partners. 
  
        Sky News reported on Saturday that a prolonged period of
share price weakness meant various bidders were circling ITV and
some had held early stage discussions about teaming up to try to
buy the company. 
  
        ITV is a commercial broadcaster which also has a
production unit, ITV Studios, which made the dramas "Rivals" for
Disney+ and "Ludwig" for the BBC. 
  
        The stock jumped as much as 9% in early deals on Monday
and was trading up 7% to 70 pence at 0845 GMT, set for its
biggest one-day jump since March. At 70 pence per share, the
company has a market capitalisation of 2.5 billion pounds. 
  
        Its share price has fallen 40% in the last three years,
dragged down by worries over advertising spend and the
profitability of its ITVX streaming service, and prompting
analysts to suggest carving up the company would boost its
value. 
  
        ITV Studios could be worth more than the parent company
upon a demerger, according to Sky News. 
  
        Sky said private equity firm CVC was planning to team up
with a European broadcaster like France's Groupe TF1, and the
pair would then split the company with CVC taking on Studios and
the broadcasting arm going to TF1.
  
        All3Media, owned by RedBird Capital, and Mediawan,
backed by the private equity giant KKR, were also interested in
ITV Studios, Sky News said. 
  
        ITV declined to comment. CVC did not immediately
respond. 
  
        
  

 (Reporting by Samuel Indyk and Sarah young ; editing by Dhara
Ranasinghe and Kate Holton)
 ((Samuel.Indyk@thomsonreuters.com;))