Consortium awaits ITV takeover response
Directors of ITV were today reported to be considering a new proposal from a consortium seeking to take control of the UK’s largest commercial broadcaster.
ITV rejected an initial approach last week from Apax Partners, Blackstone and the private equity arm of Goldman Sachs, but it is thought that the bid group has sweetened its offer to allow shareholders to cash in their shares.
The original proposal would have seen 86p per share returned to shareholders by loading ITV with more debt. That was equal to £3.55bn (€5bn) or three-quarters of its market value.
The consortium would have injected as much as £1.5bn (€2.1bn) into ITV in return for a controlling stake.
But ITV rejected the indicative proposal because shareholders who did not wish to retain its shares would not have been able to gain an appropriate premium if they sold out.
According to the Financial Times, the consortium fronted by former BBC director general Greg Dyke is now offering 40p a share on top of its original 86p to shareholders who want to check out of the broadcaster completely.
A spokesman for ITV declined to comment on the FT report, which said the cash alternative was equivalent to £1.6bn (€2.3bn).
