Granada has announced the offer price and allocations for the flotation of its media interests as Granada Media plc (see Granada Unveils Plans For Media Arm Flotation). Conditional trading began today at 8am, with shares offered at £5.15 per ordinary share.
Charles Allen, chairman of Granada Media, said, “Today’s listing on the London Stock Exchange firmly establishes Granada Media as a pure media company, poised to play a leading role in the consolidation of the industry. We have very strong foundations in all our core businesses and are committed to exploiting the significant growth opportunities that we see in content creation, broadcasting, pay TV, broadband, interactive media and our international business.”
Net proceeds to the company are expected to reach £1.3bn. Unconditional trading is scheduled to begin at 8am on 18 July.
Granada is also set to merge with catering group Compass (see Sharewatch), leading to the eventual full separation of Granada Media and Compass Hospitality, expected in early 2001.
Granada Media is organised into four integrated business units and two major joint ventures. Granada Creative supplies programming content in the UK and internationally. Granada Broadcasting owns licences for 33% of the broadcasting ad revenue generated by the ITV Network last year. Granada Broadband is the new media business. Interests include eight channels on pay television platforms, among them ITV2 and a range of internet ventures. Granada Enterprises is the commercial arm set up to exploit the value of the company’s production and broadcasting assets.
The joint ventures Granada Media is involved with are ONdigital, the commercial digital terrestrial television operator and Box Clever, the consumer television rental business. The company has a 50% equity share in each company.
The future of Granada’s media interests is should become a little clearer this Friday, when Stephen Byers, Trade and Industry Secretary, is scheduled to publish and rule on a Competition Commission report on the merger proposed between either Granada and Carlton, Granada and United News & Media or Carlton and United News & Media (see ITC Says Proposed Mergers Pass Public Interest Test).
Granada: 020 7620 1620
