Media and leisure group Granada has this morning joined the bidding war for ITV franchises by making a formal submission to the Office of Fair Trading for consent to merge with either Carlton or United News & Media. A decision of this kind has been expected since November when the two smaller groups announced plans to merge to create a powerful rival to Granada (see Carlton And United News & Media Set For £7.8bn Merger).
Granada’s current size and power mean it will need either approval from the Competition Commission or a review of the present ownership rules to be allowed to proceed with a bid. It is believed that the group’s chief executive, Charles Allen, has called for a comprehensive review of current policy with a view to changing the rules to allow further consolidation within the ITV network.
More details to follow on Newsline…
Media Jobs
Hello. We have downloaded cookies on your device. Some of these cookies are essential for the website to function. Others are non-essential and are used for analytics and advertising.
We need your consent for these types of cookies.
To withdraw your consent or change your cookie choices, please do this through your browser settings.
Otherwise, click OK to accept and continue.
