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ITV‘s stock has surged more than 14% after a Sky News report suggested that bosses at the UK television giant are entertaining talk of a sale or carve up.
ITV’s share price has climbed since Friday, when speculation in London began to mount that interested parties were circling the European broadcasting behemoth.
At the time of publication, ITV’s stock was valued at just under £72 ($90.7), giving the company a market cap of £2.75B ($3.46B).
Sky News City editor Mark Kleinman, one of the best-connected financial journalists in the UK, reported that Formula One owner CVC Capital Partners and France’s Groupe TF1 are eyeing ITV.
RedBird IMI-owned All3Media and Mediawan, which recently acquired Leonine, were also said to be interested in taking control of ITV Studios, the production giant behind Rivals and Love Island.
Sky News reported that ITV CEO Carolyn McCall has discussed the merits of a sale or divestment with the company’s financial advisers, but no formal proposals are on the table.
ITV declined to comment.
A sale or carve-up of ITV, which boasts revenues of £4.2B ($5.3B), would significantly reshape the European TV industry and would fit with the trend towards consolidation in the industry.
A persuasive argument could be made that ITV Studios is ITV’s biggest asset, accounting for more than half of the company’s total revenue. Netflix’s Fool Me Once and game show Squid Game: The Challenge are recent success stories.
If ITV Studios were to be acquired by All3Media or Mediawan it would transform the buyers from being mid-ranking studios into one of the biggest in the world.
As Deadline revealed over the summer, RedBird IMI is keen to bolster All3Media with acquisitions, with the U.S. being an area of focus. ITV Studios has a strong presence in the States, where it is the largest independent unscripted producer.
It would represent something of a turnaround, given ITV Studios came close to acquiring All3Media before pulling out over price, clearing the field for RedBird IMI.
