Sharewatch: Carlton And Granada Still Buoyed By Merger

Carlton and Granada remained in focus yesterday as the market continued to ponder the implications of the broadcasters’ planned £4.2 billion merger, which was given the go ahead by Trade and Industry Secretary, Patricia Hewitt, last week (see ITV Cleared To Merge With Sales Houses Intact).

The ITV partners are currently hammering out detailed merger plans with the Office of Fair Trading And Ofcom. However, reports suggest that the merged ITV company will retain Carlton’s cinema advertising business and its interests in Thomson Multimedia of France.

Carlton saw shares rise by 1.41% and Granada improved by 0.66% in what were the best performances in yesterday’s media market.

BSkyB was also in the spotlight after announcing the launch of its biggest promotion since the launch of Sky Digital five years ago, with a £20 million advertising campaign to push its Sky Plus personal video recording service. The satellite broadcaster saw stocks dip by 0.86% (see BSkyB Launches £20 Million Campaign To Promote Sky Plus).

Broader market sentiment was subdued yesterday as London stocks followed global markets lower as disappointing corporate results ushered in a wave of profit taking. The FTSE 100 closed 0.7% lower at 4.339.7.

The closing prices of media company shares on Thursday were: