Carlton and Granada linked to franchise bids
ITV giants Carlton Communications and Granada were today both linked to possible bids for television franchises Grampian and Scottish TV.
Scottish Media Group is reported to have held discussions about the sale of its television business worth an estimated £350m (€545m).
The Glasgow-based firm declined to comment on the speculation that it was preparing to offload the division, which is also responsible for the production of programmes such as Taggart and Wheel of Fortune.
According to the Sunday Times, SMG has held talks with Granada and Carlton Communications although venture capital firm Apax is also in the frame.
SMG, which has a range of other media interests including Virgin Radio, three newspapers and 11 magazines, is understood to be keen to reduce debt.
Bottom-line losses at the group came in at £64.2m (€100.4m) last year as tough market conditions led to job cuts and the lower value of investments.
Today’s report said that Carlton had already dropped out of the running, while Granada was similarly concerned about the asking price.
The media giant, which holds the Granada, Anglia and Meridian franchises, also risks pushing its share of the market high enough to spark an inquiry.
In a separate report, the Observer said a bid by Carlton had been mulled over as a way to bolster its size ahead of a possible merger with Granada.
The newspaper said preliminary discussions between SMG and Carlton’s financial advisers had been held in the last few weeks, but that the Scottish company had yet to make a decision on whether to press ahead with a sale.
Carlton, which has five TV regions, including Central, HTV and West Country, was unavailable for comment. Granada said it did not comment on speculation.
