13 November 2006
Cable television company ntl has been warned by ITV that any bid that is lower than that offered by Goldman Sachs and Apax will be rejected.
Rumours of a merger between ITV and ntl began last week, with bosses at ntl reportedly being prepared to offer around 120p per share. ITV had been suffering with internal problems, including its inability to replace Charles Allen, its former chief executive.
According to the Independent, although an offer from Apax and Goldman Sachs for 130p per share was rejected by the head of ITV board Sir Peter Burt, the offer has now set a benchmark price which must be met before ITV open its books to anyone.
Steve Weller, head of communications at uSwitch.com, comments: "This potential acquisition would give ntl a place as a serious media player with an opportunity to tackle Sky's well-established foothold in the media sector.
"As more service providers bundle their products and provide elements of their service for free, content ownership will make the difference between the winners and losers," he concluded.
BBC Worldwide, which partnera ntl on the UKTV channels, also appeared to be in favour of the acquisition, with John Smith, chief executive of the BBC's commercial arm, telling the Financial Times that it was "a great idea" for ITV, ntl and the BBC to join forces.
"The BBC's view is that to have a strong ITV is a good thing and ntl are our partners so we want them to do well," he said.
Cable or satellite? What about Freeview? See what digital TV package would work best for you and what's available in your area by using the uSwitch.com comparison and switching service. Compare digital TV providers and switch in minutes.
© 2008 Adfero Ltd
Content for the uSwitch.com market news service is provided by a third party, Adfero Ltd. Whilst uSwitch.com makes reasonable efforts to check the reliability of this content, uSwitch.com does not guarantee the accuracy thereof or endorse the views or opinions given by Adfero Ltd, unless expressly stated otherwise.