TV Share Prices Row

The spate of rumour and speculation about the size of the cash bids for the new TV licences has sparked a row over share prices.

It is against Stock Exchange regulat- ions for shareholders to leak news of their cash bids. Assurances have been secured that the news has not come from the ITV companies themselves, and the Exchange has therefore emphasised that no significance can be placed on the sums now being quoted.

The Exchange has also stressed that the size of the cash bid will not guarantee the award of a licence; the quality threshold must be taken into account, and some bids may be considered too high to be sustainable.

The only company which is requested to reveal the size of its bid is TVS, because of its current restructuring process , which requires shareholder approval.

The Stock Exchange has affirmed that the current dealings in TV companies will be investigated by its insider dealing unit – a standard procedure in such cases.