ITV shares up amid takeover bid rumours

ITV shares made further heavy gains today after reports said former BBC director general Greg Dyke may launch a £6bn (€8.6bn) takeover bid.

Shares in the company have lifted 10% since Wednesday – including 3% today - amid speculation a bid could be on the cards.

It is understood that media heavyweights Mr Dyke, Lord Hollick and former managing director of the Daily Telegraph Stephen Grabiner could join forces in a consortium backed by investment groups Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) and Apax Partners.

The company, created last year from the merger of Carlton Communications and Granada, recently saw half-year profits rise 42% after advertising revenues lifted to their best level since the dotcom boom.

Lord Hollick, who used to own the Anglia and Meridian ITV franchises before selling them to Granada, was quoted yesterday as saying that buying the group back “would have a nice ring to it” and that he would not rule anything out.

Jeremy Batstone, an analyst at stockbroker Charles Stanley, said he thought a bid for ITV was a “distinct possibility” although there may be a question mark over the price.

He said: “There is little doubt that ITV’s future as an independent company has been viewed with raised eyebrows.”

Chief executive Charles Allen said at the time of the group’s interim results in September that the firm had delivered on all aspects of the merger, with its £100m (€142.7m) cost-saving target achieved six months early.

The long-awaited tie-up between Carlton and Granada brought together all the former ITV regional companies, except Scottish, Grampian and Ulster.

A report in the Observer yesterday said Mr Dyke – who resigned from the BBC following the Hutton inquiry – and Mr Grabiner were advising Apax, while Lord Hollick was recently appointed to advise US-based KKR.

KKR is believed to be keen to expand its UK media interests while Lord Hollick had already taken informal soundings from Apax, which recruited Mr Dyke in October.

While the project is only at an evaluation stage, more talks between KKR and Apax are planned in coming weeks, the report said.

It cited friends of Mr Dyke as saying the former London Weekend Television chief “can’t wait to get back to broadcasting” and being part of an Apax bid could give him the opportunity he has been awaiting.

Shares rose 3.5p to 118.5p today.