ITV has received a second bid from the investment consortium which approached the company last week, offering a cash alternative of 40p per share on top of the 86p in cash originally offered.
Under the new proposal share holders will command a 52% share of the company, with the deal generating a special 86p per share dividend for existing investors.
Those wishing to offload their stake in the company will receive an additional 40p per share payment, giving a total price of 126p per share – slightly above the company’s closing price of 125p last night.
Details of the revised offer remain scarce this morning, with the ITV board yet to make a public statement. However, the fresh approach does appear to address ITV’s original concern that “shareholders who did not wish to retain their shares would not have been assured of receiving a cash price at an appropriate premium.”
News of the revised bid first broke earlier this week, with the Times reporting that a “cash sweetener” would be offered in an effort to win over the ITV board.