Sharewatch: Merged ITV Completes First Day Of Trading

Fourteen years of gradual consolidation of the ITV Network finally came to fruition yesterday with the long-awaited merger of Carlton and Granada creating a single ITV company worth more than £5 billion (see ITV Enters New Phase With Merger Completion).

The newly created ITV plc closed its first day of trading at 148p after opening at 142p. Credit Suisse First Boston initiated coverage with an ‘outperform’ rating in the belief that cost savings for the merged company would be greater than the £100 million already announced, while a 1% rise in advertising spend would boost ITV’s earning by 5.8%.

Chrysalis was also seen in focus rising 2.73% after securing a new three year deal to handle all national airtime advertising sales for Guardian Media Group’s portfolio of radio stations (see Chrysalis Extends Airtime Sales Deal With GMG Radio).

Meanwhile, Maiden saw shares hold firm at 257˝p despite announcing last week that it expects full year pre tax profits to be lower than forecast, at between £5.3 million and £5.5 million (see Maiden Issues Profits Warning As Pre-Tax Profits Dip).

Broader market sentiment was cautious yesterday as London blue chips slipped amid jitters over the prospects for Vodafone and British Airways. The FSTE 100 closed 0.2% lower at 4,381.2 although the FTSE 250 added 0.6% at 6,057.4.

The closing prices of media company shares on Monday were: