Liberty Global's £10bn takeover of ITV could be looming as Virgin Media owner 'sounds out' investors
Liberty Global, the owner of Virgin Media, is thought to have sounded out ITV investors ahead of a possible £10billion takeover offer.
US media tycoon John Malone’s business bought a 6.4 per cent stake in ITV for £481million from BSkyB last month, in what has been seen by many in the City as a prelude to a takeover attempt.
And Liberty Global has begun wooing ITV investors to assess the chances of success, according to reports.
Success: ITV, whose shows include Dancing on Ice, could be soon be snapped up by Liberty Global
Following the news, shares in ITV soared by more than 2 per cent to 216.40p this morning.
Liberty Global is trying to build a European pay-TV empire, after gaining a foothold in Europe with the takeover of Virgin Media, in a deal valued at £15billion.
It followed that deal by picking up Dutch cable company Ziggo for £3.9billion and has a reputation for building stakes before mounting a takeover.
ITV was one of the businesses to cash in on the football World Cup bonanza in Brazil, at the end of July posting a 40 per cent leap in pre-tax profits to £250million for the first half of the year.
The broadcaster said it was buoyed by a 13 per cent rise in advertising during the second quarter.
Chief executive Adam Crozier is trying to reduce ITV's reliance on advertising by beefing up its ITV Studios arm in the hope of selling shows such as Dancing on Ice and the Jeremy Kyle Show around the world.
The programme-making division delivered underlying profit up 14 per cent to £72million over the six months, on the back of revenue that was 2 per cent higher at £402million.
Underlying profits from its TV channels and digital offering were up 10 per cent to £250million, on revenues that rose 7 per cent to £981million, of which advertising income made up £795million.
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